Needles
by AutumnMobile12
Summary: The Black Order has not celebrated Christmas for almost twenty years. Lenalee and her friends have never seen a Christmas tree. Can the elder exorcists bring the light back into the fortress they call home?
1. Needles

**Needles**

"Eh?" Komui peered through the hair falling in front of his glasses. He eyed the mismatched pair of exorcists in front of him, waiting for the punch line. Neither the hugely built man nor the slender female cracked a smile. Both waited expectantly. To stall for time, he straightened the papers on his desk, which was a joke, considering the state of his desk. Despite his remarkable intellect, he wasn't coming up with any answers and he gave up all pretenses. "Why on earth would you need a tree?"

"I know China doesn't celebrate this holiday but for us, it's a Christmas tradition. We bring a conifer into our home, in this case, the Order." His voice, deep as a well and raspy from the climb up, suited the man's wide shoulders and muscular stature. His serious demeanor was at odds with his hopeful expression.

Bewildered, Komui watched them doubtfully. About this time of the year in China, he and his little sister would be decorating their quiet house with lovely, red patterns for New Years. He had heard of the Christmas holiday but trees in houses? That tidbit he'd missed.

"I see no problem," he conceded hesitantly, "but why are you asking my permission?" After all, it was a western custom. Surely they didn't expect him to deny their holiday traditions.

The female exorcist laughed at his overall confusion and explained in light, singsong French accent, "we didn't know what to expect, sir. Your predecessor, Supervisor Leverrier, banned any sort activities in the Order."

"It's true," agreed the man-Brutus Maxum, Komui suddenly remembered his name-nodding grimly. "Said it didn't suit the conduct of a holy war, he did. For years, we only set up this sorry, little weed in an inconspicuous corner of the mess hall where he wouldn't notice it much."

Gwen Frere agreed and smiled at her friend. "Don't worry, _gros copain_. It'll be different this year." She turned to Komui with sharp, crystal blue eyes. "_Oui_?"

Komui nodded hurriedly and smiled in encouragement. "Sure, sure. Get your tree, decorate the Order, enjoy yourselves. I don't mind at all." And he didn't, really. Since his arrival at the Order three months ago he hadn't grown accustomed to the gloomy and dreary aspects of the fortress. A little color would certainly help the place.

Brutus trapped his hand in a friendly but crushing handshake. "You're the best, Chief."

"This will boost the staff's morale," Gwen nodded with a bright smile. "_Merci beaucoup_."

Before Komui could respond a small figure darted through the open doors and skidded to a halt when she spotted the two exorcists. Before Brutus and Gwen could turn, she spirited her way past and tucked up behind him. "Lenalee," Komui greeted his baby sister, "Is something the matter?" Since their reunion three months ago, she rarely left his side. Lately, she'd regained some of her independence but she still never wandered far from him.

Lenalee shook her head but she seemed mesmerized by the two exorcists. "I, uh. . .just came to. . ."

Feeling the child's nervousness, Gwen smiled broadly at the tiny nine year old. "Well, _mon ange, _would you like to go on a Christmas tree mission?"

Using her unruly bangs as a shield, Lenalee regarded the two exorcists with suspicion. Did she hear that right? Something about a tree? Komui smiled at her and everyone watched her. Lenalee tucked farther behind Komui and curled her fingers into his lab coat.

Gwen tried a reassuring smile, knowing the history of this particular girl. "There will be snow, there'll be trees," she tempted and patted Brutus' muscled shoulder as if he were a well mannered puppy. "And we'll make the boys do all the work."

Brutus understood his size could be intimidating to children and, like Gwen, he had heard the rumors of Lenalee's years in the Order. He couldn't pull off well-mannered puppy but he did offer her a contagious grin.

Lenalee couldn't help but smile shyly in return. From time to time she had seen him around the Order leaving for and returning from missions with his mace like anti-akuma weapon. She had envied his size, knowing no one could make him do something he didn't want to do. Her brother was tall and even _he_ had to look up if he wanted to meet Brutus' steel grey eyes. Penetrating eyes that didn't miss a thing but twinkled when he caught her watching him.

Komui affectionately threaded his fingers through her hair and caught her attention "Why don't you ask your friends to go?"

Lenalee weighed her options with a caution no nine year old should display and caused Komui's heart to contract. Gwen and Brutus witnessed the same and suddenly today wasn't just about holiday traditions and Christmas trees; it was about bringing fun back into this little girl's life.

"Okay," she answered simply and darted from the room.

"We'll wait by the stables," Gwen called after her.

Big brother instincts kicked in before she fully made her escape and Komui started shouting instructions. "Wear your warm coat. Don't forget your scarf and mittens. Don't stay out too…."

Lenalee didn't want to give him time to change his mind and she sprinted out of hearing range. She slowed only slightly while she thought of her friends. Where would they be at this time? Dinnertime was over. Kanda would probably be in the training hall or in his room. Lenalee veered towards the staircase for the exorcists' living quarters. She doubted Kanda would find the idea off tramping around in snow in search of a tree appealing but she hoped he would come. She needed him to come.

He didn't answer when she knocked on his door and Lenalee charted a course to the training hall. In her haste, she nearly plowed into the eleven year old. "Kanda," she jumped back in surprise and winced as when he lifted his eyes to meet hers. A whopping, dark purple bruise covering his right cheek, spanning from his jawbone to just under his eye. He tried keeping it concealed by his short hair, but wasn't completely successful. "That looks like it hurts."

The usual bitter temper accompanied his fresh collection of rapidly healing bruises. Kanda blinked once and waited. When Lenalee looked as if she might stare at him all day, he asked in a discouraging tone, "What do you want?"

She winced and struggled not let his tone bother her. "Brutus and miss Gwen are going to look for a tree, and they asked if I wanted to come. You can come too."

"Why the hell would I go outside to find a tree?" He looked perturbed at the mere concept.

_Just as I thought._ Lenalee grinned impishly. "Because you won't find one inside."

Kanda reached new levels of annoyed and started purposefully towards his room. Lenalee dogged his heels. "I don't really get it either, but going outside sounds fun. There's the trees, the snow, it'll be fun."

"It's cold out there," he muttered and closed the door in her face.

Lenalee frowned at the wooden door. She really wanted him to go. It would be a good opportunity to restore their neglected friendship. But how could she convince him? Tease him about the cold? No, teasing got the door in her face. Beg? That would only irritate him but it was her best plan. "Please?"

She almost heard his sigh before the door opened reluctantly. She gently gripped his sleeve so he wouldn't slam the door this time around. She smiled her best beguiling smile. "You're always training with Mr. General Tiedoll."

"And whenever I _am_ here, you're always with your brother," he shot back reproachfully.

Lenalee's smile faded in guilt. She favored spending time with her newly restored brother and knowingly neglected her friend. Had he been lonely, she wondered? He would never admit it and would most likely say he was glad to have her off his hands, but still. . .she wondered. "I'm sorry." she apologized earnestly. "I would really like if you came with me. Please?"

Kanda's expression remained blank and she dropped her hand from his sleeve. Lenalee stepped back and discouraged, turned away. "I'll meet you at the stables in five minutes," said on a deep sign of resignation and his door closed before she could say thank you.

Now, Daisya behaved less predictably. The new exorcist joined the Order a few months prior to her brother. Daisya Barry could be considered Kanda's complete opposite but Lenalee had quickly become his friend as well. After a safari hunt of the Order's halls and interrogating clueless people, she eventually found him in the exorcists' lounge, taking a nap on one of the worn-out sofas. Or so it appeared. "Need something, Moppet?" he asked drowsily, not even opening his eyes.

"Wanna come outside? A couple exorcists invited us to help look for a Christmas tree." Lenalee quickly explained, already knowing his answer.

"Sure, I'll come." he laughed, patting her shoulder as he shifted to sit. Daisya would do almost anything to evade boredom. "What's a Christmas tree?"

Lenalee grinned in response and rushed to her small room, two hallways over. It was a small piece of space, more cozy than cramped. Since her brother's arrival, she had no reason to escape and someone had finally removed the wire mesh barring her only window. Bright, winter sunlight streamed into the room and swept away the dark, depressing aura she'd known during the first four long years she'd occupied this room.

Knowing she would soon be enjoying the sunlight outdoors, Lenalee spared no time for it now. She quickly rummaged through her wardrobe, bypassing a couple spare uniforms, a raincoat, and several leisure outfits. She pushed everything aside and unearthed a thick, black coat. It was similar to her everyday uniform, except it was heavier and lined with white fur along the wide hood and the sleeve cuffs. The garment was hefty but designed so it wouldn't hinder the agile movement she needed for fighting. It wasn't often needed it as she rarely had missions in cold regions. She patted it down and found mittens in the pockets and her scarf in the sleeve. Lenalee tossed everything behind her where it landed on the bed and slipped on warm leggings. And her boots…well, they were her Dark Boots.

Knowing Kanda would get impatient and leave and Daisya would be bored to the point of mischief, Lenalee caught up her winter clothing and dashed out of her room. "Pfft!" she hissed, blowing hair out of her face and jammed her arms through the sleeves. She shoved the mittens in her mouth and started wrapping the long gray scarf around her neck. One end dangled longer than the other and she stumbled. With frustration she straightened it again. Her scarf battle continued as she ran to meet her friends.

-0-0-0-

Kanda and Daisya waited for her by the stairway to the underground canal. One wore a fierce scowl while the other pretended not to poke him. Typical. Lenalee rushed to greet them before Kanda maimed the unrelenting thirteen year old. Once more she trod on her scarf nearly strangling and tripping herself simultaneously and stopped with near disaster in front of the older boys. Kanda's scowl deepened as he knelt before her.

"You're ten years old." he scolded shortly. "You can fight akuma but you can't manage a scarf."

"Fighting akuma is more important," she responded quickly and almost coaxed a smile from him.

"You're not a baby and you should know how to do this by now." He double wrapped the long scarf so it no longer dragged and settled it comfortably around her neck. His fingers gently brushed her bright red cheeks and Lenalee knew he surreptitiously checked for fever. Her cheeks were flushed from running in her heavy coat but Lenalee recognized the touch so often performed by Komui.

Like herself, Kanda and Daisya also wore their winter coats, which were in similar to their standard ones, except for the fur lining. Neither of them wore scarves or gloves and Lenalee thought to remove her own. As if he could read her thoughts, Kanda glared at her just daring her to remove the scarf.

"Put your mittens on," he ordered and followed with, "or do you need help with those."

Lenalee shook her head vigorously and stuck her tongue out at him. The first mitten went on easy enough, but the second resisted her efforts. Lenalee could almost visualize the sigh building in Kanda's chest as he glowered at her. She nipped the cuff with her teeth, yanked it on and held up her hand triumphantly.

Kanda shook his head, unimpressed, "She can fight akuma but mittens defeat her."

"Maybe she bites her enemies," Daisya responded to the other boy but praised her efforts. "Good job, Moppet." He gave an affectionate hair ruffle and started down the stairs. "Let's go, then."

"I got the mittens right," she muttered without glancing at Kanda and trailed after Daisya.

Lenalee kept her hands firmly on the stair rail and planted her feet beside each other before taking the next step rather than putting one foot in front of the other on each step like the older (and taller) boys did. Daisya continued without noticing her painstaking progress, but Lenalee was agonizingly aware of Kanda's irritation as he followed her. She quickened her pace as best she could but her right heel suddenly caught on the step edge and she pitched forward with a shriek.

Her neatly tied scarf suddenly tightened around her neck and she was hauled back to an upright position, heart racing. "Daisya, carry her or I might actually live to be an old man."

At her scream, Daisya sprinted up the stairs but now he turned his back to her. "Up you get, Moppet." he said, hoisting her onto his shoulders.

"Are you sure I won't be too heavy?"

He grinned as they started off again. "Hey, biologically, I really am a big brother. I used to lug around two brothers and a little sister just like you, all at once."

"Oh." Lenalee nodded, trying to hide her confusion but her inquisitive nature won out. "What does 'biologically' mean?"

"It means he and his brothers and sister are in the same family." Kanda explained dryly. "For example, Komui is your biological brother rather than a self-appointed one."

"Yeah, like Kanda and myself," Daisya added, "your adoptive brothers."

"Kanda and Daisya are my brothers, too!" Lenalee squealed, squeezing Daisya's neck in an awkward hug.

"She's never going to forget that." Kanda remarked, walking alongside them now.

"I don't mind, I'd take her over crybaby Darna any day."

Lenalee tried seeing past Kanda's dark hair as she heard her friend sigh. "I'm sorry, Kanda. You don't have to be my brother."

Black eyes flashed with a mixture of emotions but she held her ground to show her sincerity. Lenalee didn't like upsetting him, and she definitely didn't like it when he retreated to his room for hours because of a harmless comment. After a moment, Kanda closed his eyes and smirked slightly. "Be a good kid, and I'll get you something nice for Christmas."

A broad smile crossed her face and she nodded. "Me, too!" _Apology accepted!_

-0-0-0-

The stables were more like a series of caves down a tunnel that branched away from the catacomb river. Most of the time it was empty, except for a one or two horses at a time as well as a few carriages the Order kept in storage. Lenalee had explored the stables for an escape route and after a failed attempt, she hadn't been allowed near them. With Komui's appearance at the Order, it was one of the many restrictions that had been lifted.

With almost all of the exorcists, majority of the generals, scientists, branch heads, and Central Administration officials at Headquarters for the holidays, the stables were nearly filled to capacity with weary horses and worse-for-wear carriages. Lenalee did not hold fond memories of the stables and she padded nervously after her friends, stealing leery glances at the sturdy animals.

Gwen looked up from the horse she was saddling and waved back. "Très bien, you made it!"

All three friends stopped abruptly. When Gwen and Brutus invited her along, Lenalee had thought only the five of them were going. She definitely did not expecting almost _forty_ people to be milling about stables. Daisya and Kanda shot questioning glances her way but encountered only puzzlement.

"Miss Gwen, why are so many people down here?" stammered Lenalee.

"Word spread," she grinned in delight. "So, we're bringing back at least six trees." All three children looked startled, so she explained, "We have volunteers and one tree just isn't going to cut it for the Order." Lenalee shook her head, bewildered. Most of the forty-something people were finders, but there were a few other exorcists, and she recognized a few of the younger members of the science division.

"This is stupid." Kanda muttered, stepping toward the stall of a smallish mare with a cloudy, blue-grey coat. "Why do we need a cavalry?"

"You don't have to come." Lenalee said in conciliation. "I know you don't like crowds, so-"

"I could use the fresh air." he interrupted. It had been at least three or four days since he'd set foot outside, mostly due to his dislike of cold weather, even if England's winter season was mild. He reached over to pat the horse's muzzle.

"Her name's Mary Blue." Gwen introduced the boy to the grey mare. She tilted her chin to a different stall. "And that one's Rosa."

"You're cute." Daisya complimented the light chestnut named Rosa and the mare whickered in his face.

Lenalee found herself standing alone in the aisle while both boys got acquainted with their respective mounts. Finders were saddling the mares and getting them ready for travel. Just being in the stables with the smells and stables churned memories and Lenalee backed away involuntarily.

"Lenalee?" Kanda asked but jerked in surprise when the mare suddenly rubbed her muzzle against the side of his head. Absently he gave the horse a stroke and focused on his friend who was looking much smaller when standing alone in the stables. "Well?"

"Uh . . ." Lenalee took another step back. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea. . .I mean. . .Komui will get worried if I'm out a long time. It's awfully cold and you're probably tired from training, plus that bruise must hurt-"

Lenalee shuffled her feet when Kanda demanded, "What's gotten into you? Five minutes ago, you were begging me to come outside with you and Daisya."

"It's just-"

"Are you afraid of horses?"

"No...yes...not really. I…" Lenalee hesitated and made further progress out of the stable.

The finder tending to Mary Blue glanced down at her. "There's nothing to be afraid, miss exorcist. Sure, you have to be careful, but Mary's not scary. Are you, girl?" The mare swished her tail and nuzzled Kanda again, nearly knocking him off the stall door.

To save himself further abuse, Kanda slipped easily into the saddle. "I guess you haven't ridden before," he observed from his perch high on the horse's back.

"I've ridden once," she admitted quietly.

"Then it must be Kanda you're scared of," Daisya said but unsuccessfully teased a smile out of her.

"You'll need to come up with Daisya or me as I'd rather not explain to your brother why you fell off your horse."

Lenalee winced at the thought of falling. "Maybe I just won't go."

"Trees, snow, fun," Kanda impatiently reminded, tossing her own words back at her.

Her stubborn streak propelled her forward but she froze when nearing the horse. Kanda leaned over and extended a hand. "All right, come on." Lenalee didn't move and his open hand twitched with irritation. With great reluctance, the Chinese girl raised her hand and gripped Kanda's wrist. Grasping hers in turn, the older boy pulled at her. "Now put your foot in the stirrup."

"I know how to get on a horse." With forced determination, Lenalee jammed her toe in the stirrup and propelled herself upward. Whether her Dark Boots kicked in or it was sheer nervousness, her momentum took Kanda completely by surprise and they both slid over the side of the horse. He hit the ground with a grunt followed by an 'ooompf' when Lenalee landed on top of him. Mary Blue shook herself, peering at the two children on the floor with inquisitive black eyes.

Lenalee skittered back on all fours staring in amazement as Daisya led Rosa near Mary Blue and scratched the muzzle of both horses. He kept his face buried against Rosa's neck as his shoulders shook with laughter. One look at Kanda's expression and she guessed the reason Daisya was actually concealing his amusement.

"I didn't mean to, please don't be angry."

Kanda glared at Lenalee, the mare as she chewed on his hair, and finally at Daisya who really wasn't hiding his laughter all that well. He didn't say a word and Lenalee wondered if he was even breathing.

Kanda rose with a grace uncommon to an twelve year old boy and vaulted effortlessly back into the saddle. His hand once again lowered to her, rock solid and uncompromising. Knowing she couldn't press her luck much further with Kanda, Lenalee climbed to her feet and tentatively approached the horse. Sights, smells, and sounds swamped her senses and fought to overcome her quickly mustered courage.

"She's friendly," Kanda insisted, exasperation sharpening his tone. "Look at Daisya for God's sake!"

He was right; the Turkish boy was now ruffling Mary Blue's dark grey mane. "There's a good girl," he cooed and kissed the horses' muzzle. Both horse sought his attention and butted their heads against the slight figure. Daisya chuckled and returned their affection.

How does he do that? Lenalee wondered. That beast was twice his size.

"Daisya, help me with the duckling."

The older boy left off his conversation with the horses and approached Lenalee with a grin. He swooped her up, lifting her halfway as Kanda leaned down to give her a boost the rest of the way up. Her arms latched around his waist in a vice-like grip as she settled onto the horse's rump. Mary Blue's tail swished as she shifted and adjusted to the weight of her passengers. Lenalee buried her face between Kanda's shoulders and tightened her hold. Kanda attempted inhaling and discovered he could still breathe if only shallowly. He shot a glance in her direction but Lenalee's her face remained pressed against his back.

-0-0-0-

The tree-hunting party trailed their way out of the cave and as the fresh air rifled through her hair, Lenalee managed to peer at the landscape around them. As the pure beauty of the brilliant sun and sparkling snow captivated her, she nearly forgot her worries but her hold never loosened on Kanda's waist. The large group meandered through the dappled shadows of the forest, weaving through bare branches and snow-draped conifers the elder exorcists deemed unsuitable.

Gwen kept shaking her head disdainfully at the sight of them. "_Non, non_, these won't do." Beside her, Brutus would nod grimly as though the group was undertaking a critical mission. On occasion they would stop to discuss the merits of one particular tree but the group always pressed on with all trees standing.

Lenalee's home region of China never yielded this much snow and she watched in fascination as the walking finders sunk halfway up their knees. No wind stirred the trees or disturbed a fluffy snowflake; the day was as calm as possible and much appreciated by the impromptu expedition. Ahead of them, Gwen started singing a merry tune to which several people joined. The song was in French so Lenalee and her friends stayed silent but Daisya murmured a lyric or two that he recognized with his sketchy knowledge of the foreign language.

Lenalee raised her head as a large icicle suddenly reflected the light of the sun. There were lots of icicles and she was captivated by the winter landscape of the English countryside. In the summer, the rolling hills around the Order were covered in thick forestland, except for the nearby town, affectionately dubbed by the exorcists as the 'The Town Below'.

No one remembered the actual name, but it sourced of most of their supplies. Squinting through the thick forest, Lenalee could just make out the shining rooftops in the valley. She'd been there once or twice and often wondered if the residents found it daunting to live in the shadow of demon-hunters. Maybe she could talk her friends into visiting today. After all, where else could she get a Christmas present for them, or even find the materials to make one. The science labs? Lenalee shuddered at the possible outcomes of that approach.

Some time into the journey, she found herself wishing for a timepiece. It felt like hours since they left the Order and Gwen still declared _non, non, _every time they approached a promising group of trees. Just what did the perfect Christmas tree look like? Didn't they all look the same? Beautiful or not, boredom crept into her mood. She looked back at Daisya, hoping he wasn't feeling the same way, boredom being his most hated foe. But the older boy seemed content enough. Kanda didn't seem too bothered either.

"Watch yourself." he warned suddenly, ducking his head to avoid a low hanging branch.

Lenalee copied his movements, but a clump of snow plopped onto her head. Crying out in surprise, she lifted her head and shook out her green hair. "Kanda, what's the Japanese word for snow?"

"_Yuki_."

She smiled and pressed her cheek against his back. "_Yuki._" she whispered the new word. It sounded like his name 'Yu', but given the annoyance she'd caused him earlier, it was probably best not mention this. But still. . . "Then what does '_yu_' mean?"

"_Yu_? Distant, leisurely. Sometimes it means gentleness and superiority."

"It suits you; why don't you use it?"

He answered with a growl and clicked his tongue. Mary Blue snorted and quickened her pace. Lenalee buried her face in Kanda's back, stifling a whimper.

"Lena, stop squeezing so hard!" Kanda yelped.

"Sorry!" She loosened her death grip around his waist. _S__ince when does he know how to ride a horse?_ She'd known him for four years today, actually, and he'd never given any indication he was any good with these creatures. The extent of what he could and couldn't do was something he didn't discuss. Then again, talking wasn't exactly something he did. "You're really good with horses," she said shyly.

Rosa trotted up beside them, Daisya still on her back. With how careless he could be, Lenalee had half expected him to fall off in the first twenty yards. "Leave it to Kanda to be more social with animals than people."

Kanda glared at him. "Animals don't do stupid things and they don't talk back."

"Who me?" Daisya grinned and galloped off. "Catch me if you can!"

At Kanda's encouragement, Mary Blue leaped after Rosa. The horses swerved and weaved through the procession and galloped into the open clearing. The animal strained beneath her, hooves pounded against the snow packed ground. Kanda narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth in anticipation as Mary Blue shot past Daisya's mount. Rosa pounded in pursuit after them, straining to catch them, the sound of her breathing loud and labored, chasing…chasing…chasing.

Lenalee's screams reverberated through the forest. Kanda pulled hard on the reins and Mary Blue responded instantly, rearing to an abrupt stop. Daisya reacted simultaneously, sawing on the reins to keep Rosa from barreling into the pair. Before his mount completely stopped he flew from the saddle and sprinted to his friends. Lenalee's cries chilled to their bones as the two friends sought to comfort her.

"No, no, no, no, no…" came the unrelenting repetition. She slid from the horse's back before Kanda could catch her. Lenalee landed hard on her knees but scrabbled into a run before either boy could react. "No, no, no, no, no…"

Daisya swerved to intercept her as Kanda soared off the horse and dashed after her. His longer legs closed the distance between them but Lenalee ran as if her life depended on it. Daisya reached her first as she ran towards him and not away. His arm caught around the waist and her momentum swung them around. He landed hard on his back with the tiny girl pounding her fists again him. Daisya threw up his arms in defense and she took off running. Before she ran two steps, Kanda caught her from behind and pinned her arms.

"I can't go back, I can't go back," she screamed, kicking viciously until he was forced to pin her to the snow covered ground.

"Lenalee," he growled fiercely, concern making his voice gruff. It seemed to penetrate her terror and she stared at him with eyes wide. Tears pooled and Kanda couldn't face her heartbreak.

Daisya scrambled to their side and whispered her name gently. Her eyes flicked to him, only half aware. Her gaze darted everywhere as she returned from the nightmare's grip. From his place of sitting on top of her, Kanda felt the fight or flight tension leave her body and he shifted to sit in the snow near her.

"Lenalee-" Kanda faltered when terror stricken eyes faced him.

"What happened, Moppet?" And even Daisya with his devil may care attitude found it difficult to face her tears.

A shadow fell over them and all three started at the appearance of an exorcist on horseback. So involved with Lenalee, neither battle experienced boy had heard his approach. Instinctively they moved to stand in front of the frightened girl.

"Everything okay?" he asked, dismounting and leading his black gelding as he approached. The coppery-haired exorcist towered over the two boys but they held their ground. "Did anyone fall off?"

Kanda just glared. Daisya was unusually subdued. "It's cool. No one is hurt."

The older man circled the two and knelt by Lenalee. His eyes were penetrating as he cupped her face and brushed her tears away with his thumb. "Is that true?"

Lenalee nodded shyly in confirmation and hiccupped, causing the man to give her a warm smile. She recognized him from spending so much time in her brother's office. Although he was dressed in casual clothes, she knew this man was an exorcist and thought his name was Kazana Reed. As he rose to his feet, he drew the young girl to hers.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" His eyes searched all three for injuries. "This is a little far from home to have an accident, kids." They nodded solemnly as he mounted his horse and turned back towards the main group. "We should join the others."

No one said a word amongst the three friends. Kanda remounted Mary Blue and held his hand out to Lenalee. Her hesitation was obvious but no more incidents occurred. Daisya waited until the slight girl was settled firmly behind Kanda before returning to his own horse. His concerned eyes never left her. Kanda made no complaint when her arms tightened painfully around his waist. Only the sound of the horses' hooves crunching in the snow could be heard as they returned to the main group.

"Arrêt," Gwen's voice cut through the crowd's chatter. All eyes turned to the woman. "This is a good place!"

With a determination to salvage the day, Lenalee turned her head view the spot that captured Gwen's attention. They were standing in a semi-thick grove of tall, dark evergreens full to the brim with needles. She wasn't an expert, but she knew these trees were healthy. Perfect, some might say.

Brutus nodded his approval and addressed the group. "All right, scout the area. We're looking for a lot of tall trees wit' green needles and lots of 'em. Six is the minimum, but no going over nine; we'll save some for next year."

There were cheers, nods and scattered sounds of agreement as the Christmas tree expedition split into several groups. They wandered in all directions, like wobbly marbles spilling from their bag. All except Lenalee, Kanda, and Daisya. The three children sat with unnerving stillness, even their mounts remained motionless. It was Daisya, never one to sit still for long, who broke the spell. He slipped easily from his horse and circled to lift Lenalee down.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, holding her longer than necessary. "I never meant to scare you."

Lenalee couldn't speak without tears. Instead she gave him a quick hug, which he returned before backing away, and acting all 'boy' again. Kanda landed lightly next to them, ignoring both.

"This was your idea," he muttered without glancing at the girl, "let's find a tree."

Before he finished speaking, Brutus' voice carried across the clearing. "This is the one."

"Race ya," Daisya grinned and took off running.

Kanda sprinted after him but not before grabbing Lenalee's hand and pulling her after him. If you could choose only one thing the girl could do well, running would be at the top of the list. The younger pair shot past Daisya and Kanda felt the sensation as Lenalee's Innocence activated. Soon the young girl left him with snow in his face as she exploded into the lead. Her laughter floated back to him and he allowed a slight smile, as long as no one could see it.

She waited smugly with the group of adults as they surveyed the chosen tree. Kanda and Daisya joined them, still breathless from their race. Impatient with the inactivity, Kanda glared at all of them. Lenalee yelped and jumped back as he unsheathed Mugen. _Where was he keeping that?_

"Innocence activate," his fingers sliding along the blade as his equip-type Innocence stirred. The adults so intent on their tree didn't even notice the boy until it was too late. Two quick strides brought him to the base of the tree and one definitive slash brought the tree crashing down.

"Whoa," Brutus yelled before Kanda could direct his attention to another tree. "Wait, wait, wait," miserably failing to conceal his laughter. He knelt before the young boy and attempted to be serious. "You're missing the point here."

"Which is," returned with a growl.

"The ax, the chopping, the camaraderie…the whole adventure."

Kanda's baleful eyes zeroed on Lenalee. "This IS stupid," he repeated his earlier estimation and started for the horses.

With a mischievous grin, Daisya pelted after him. Lenalee simply followed because she wouldn't know a perfect Christmas tree from all the other trees in the forest. Kanda's swift stride put a lot of distance between him and the adults. Daisya tackled his legs and set them rolling in the snow. They kicked, punched, and rolled until both were breathless and neither could be declared a winner. There was never an occasion when they could play like this. It was always training, training, assignments, Innocence, traveling to assignment, and more training. Lenalee couldn't remember the last time she was allowed to have fun. She laughed in delight as they sat up.

"You look like snowmen."

The two boys exchanged plotting expressions. "Tickle the Moppet!"

They pounced and attempted to tickle her. Her heavy coat made it next to impossible but Lenalee laughed until she couldn't breath. She squirmed and twisted but there was no getting loose. They settled for shoving snow down her coat. In revenge, she wrapped her arms around each of their necks and gave them both a kiss on the cheek. Kanda and Daisya rocketed away from her in opposite directions and she giggled in pure feminine joy. Boys were so predictable.

_Crack!_

All three of them froze to the sound of splintering wood, then a loud crash. For a moment, all was silent, then Brutus roared, "Two down!"

Kanda took advantage of Daisya's inattention and shoved him into the snow. The boy retaliated with gobs of snow flung in his direction. Lenalee sighed with a woman's impatience.

"Oh, don't start again," she scolded. "I'm bored watching the two of you."

"Well, we can't have that," Daisya declared dramatically and pressed Kanda's face into a snowdrift. "We are at your service."

"Who's we?" Kanda asked in a low tone after a flurry of kicks brought him free of the snow and sitting on top of Daisya.

"I wanna play house." Her answer forestalled Daisya's retaliation and both boys grimaced.

"Well, we said we would-"

"I never said I would."

"-so we'd better go with it." He stood and brushed himself free of snow. "Besides, making the house it the fun part."

"How do we do that?" asked Lenalee.

-0-0-0-

As Daisya explained the requirements for house making, sounds of the expedition resonated in the forest. Crunching snow, shouting, axes on wood. Every now and then, there was the sound of wood splintering and then a crash would soon follow. His instructions were simple enough; pile together snow and pack it firmly. She helped shove together a sizable mound and Lenalee watched carefully as Daisya packed it together to make the shelter sturdy and durable.

"You always make it at least chest high if it's for yourself," he said, standing back to measure. "But for three of us, we'll have to make it a bit wider. Most important, remember to always put your door on the side of the hut opposite the direction the wind's coming from."

"That way!" Lenalee cried excitedly, pointing toward the east. "The wind's coming from there!"

"Very good!" Daisya ruffled her hair before kneeling to dig a hole in west-facing side of the mound. "All right, tricky part. You have to hollow it carefully so it doesn't collapse."

"Did Mr. Tiedoll teach you how to do this?"

"Yep. Last month in Siberia. That's a really cold region on the other side of the world." Daisya was now halfway inside and shoveling snow out behind him. Once in a while, he pulled himself back out and shook his brown hair free of snow.

It seemed like hard work and Lenalee found herself wishing there was a way to help him. The entrance would only fit one at a time for the moment. She rocked back and forth on her haunches as she watched Daisya's body from the waist down. Little by little, a pair of long legs at first, then kneecaps to wriggling feet and finally, a set of boots disappeared into the mound.

"All right, Moppet, help me hollow this out!" shouted the shelter. "Be careful or this thing will collapse and we'll have to start over!"

Lenalee pushed herself off the ground and made her way to the entrance, then turned and looked around. "Where did Kanda go?" she asked absently.

"I thought he was with you."

"He's not."_ Come to think of it, he hadn't joined the snow piling efforts. _Why hadn't she noticed his absence sooner?

Daisya poked his head out of the snow mound. "I wouldn't worry. He can look after himself."

Lenalee knew that to be true. If Kanda wanted to be alone, it was best to leave him be and worrying wouldn't help a bit. She crawled into the snow shelter and gaped at the shelter's interior. Though the lighting was poor, it wasn't pitch black as she'd expected. Daisya told her to scrape the snow on the walls until she could just barely see light coming through.

"Take your time," he advised, "and don't overwork yourself. Sweat's bad because you lose body heat faster that way."

"Kay!"

Burrowing into the mound and shoveling extra snow back outside took longer than she expected. Between her and Daisya, it must've taken another half hour to hollow out the shelter. She took several breaks outside but Daisya worked nonstop, kicking snow from the mound.

Lenalee turned her head around, still wondering about Kanda. Sighing dejectedly, she crawled back into the shelter.

"Almost done!" Daisya announced and for the finishing touch, he punctured a small hole in the ceiling. "For ventilation." he explained with a grin, then took off his winter coat to barricade the entrance. "And there's the door."

"Won't you get cold?"

Daisya sat back, keeping himself hunched over and shook his head. "Nah, two people produce enough heat between them to last the night in a properly made shelter. True, I might need something warmer, but we're not staying too long. I'll be fine." Reaching out, he patted the walls. "So, this is how you build a snow shelter. You can use evergreen branches for insulation, too. There's your survival lesson for the day, kiddo."

"It's a little cramped." Lenalee admitted, copying his position. Her fingers were tingling by now and she couldn't feel her toes.

Daisya shrugged. "Better than outside."

He was right; Lenalee had to admit it was pretty warm in the snow hut, but she hoped she would never take a mission where she would be desperate enough to spend a night in one of these. Besides, despite Daisya's claim that he wasn't cold, she could clearly see him shivering.

The black coat blocking the entrance shifted to the side and Gwen peered into the shelter. "So you finished it! Good job, it's really cute!"

Lenalee climbed out of the shelter. "Miss Gwen, you haven't seen Kanda, have you?"

The woman frowned. "I thought he was with you."

Daisya crawled out of the shelter and slipped into his coat. "He went off somewhere and we haven't seen him in a while. Thought maybe he was out leveling the forest with Mugen." Gwen couldn't help but smile.

"I'll look for him!" Lenalee volunteered and raced off before anyone could stop her.

"Is that really wise," Gwen wondered, watching the little girl disappear into the dark forest.

"If Kanda disappeared," Daisya sounded much older than his twelve years, "it is probably best if Lenalee is the one to find him." He shook off his mood and grinned. "He might not kill her."

It proved to be rather easy to find Kanda, or rather Kanda found her. Lenalee chose a path with the least footprints. Kanda would avoid the crowd and it seemed a good place to start. She wove between trees and scraggly branches, keeping her eyes peeled for her friend.

Lenalee yelped in surprise as a glowing blade slipped beneath her chin. "You know, that just isn't polite."

"What do you want?" he asked wearily while sheathing his blade.

Lenalee circled the tree and found him leaning against the rough bark, his eyes closed. When he didn't move, she squinted at him in worry. _All that training must've worn him out._ She'd heard training in the field was strenuous, though due to her numerous escape attempts four years ago, the Order hadn't trusted her well enough to assign a General to instruct her. Still Kanda never looked quite this…punished was the only word she could think of. While he couldn't hide the bruises and weariness, Lenalee wondered what injuries he might be concealing.

"Are you okay?"

Kanda opened one eye and glared at her.

"Sorry."

"I'm sorry, too, you know." Kanda said suddenly. Lenalee looked up at him, but he was staring into the distance. "For scaring you, I mean."

"I know you would never use Mugen against me," she shrugged as if having a weapon drawn on her was no big deal. In their world, it really wasn't.

"No, before," his eyes met hers and for just a moment, Lenalee didn't know what he meant. Her former horror washed over her and she shuddered in reaction. "It isn't just the horses is it?"

"No, it isn't," she admitted and Kanda being Kanda, didn't press her for more.

To her lasting surprise, he stepped close, his fingers running through her hair. "You have pine needles stuck in your hair," his voice merely a whisper.

Needing his strength, needing his comfort, Lenalee leaned forward and slipped her arms around his waist. His hands stilled in her hair as he held her gently. Only moments passed but it was enough to let her fears dissolve. Fingers flicked a few last pine needles and he stepped back.

"It's fine now," he managed to declare and question at the same time.

"It's fine," she agreed softly.

"Let's find Daisya," he snarled in return to typical Kanda "I tired of babysitting you."

With a secret smile at his back, Lenalee followed him towards the sound of people, laughter, and trees falling.

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: D. Gray Man is the property of Katsura Hoshino. Gwen Frere and Kazana Reed are actual characters in D Gray Man, though Gwen is only a mentioned name. I just gave her a description and personality. I came up with Brutus Maxum myself.

Special thanks to my mom who helped out a lot with this story and to my little sister who proofread the final draft.

Hope you liked it. More is coming.

**Translations**

_Gros copain_ (big fella) – French

"_Oui_?" (Yes) – French

"_Merci beaucoup_." (Thank you) – French

_Mon ange_ (my angel) – French

_Très bien_ (Very good) – French

_Non _(no) – French

_Arrêt _(halt) – French


	2. Branches

Author's Notes: Thank you to all who read and/or reviewed; it means so much to me. Here's the second installment to Needles. Sorry it took so long. Really, I'd been hoping to put this up a _lot_ sooner. Thank you for your patience.

Branches

Lenalee leaned over as she traveled across the snow, trailing her finger in the white and leaving behind a long, thin line. She smiled in delight and slid her finger back and forth, making the line curved and wavy. All around her, thick evergreen branches closed in on her and her friends, blocking out the light.

It had been Brutus' idea for them to ride in the branches of the trees as they dragged them along. Lenalee figured she wasn't ready to attempt riding horseback again and Daisya was all for the tree idea which pretty much forced Kanda into submission.

Although she'd only just started, she quickly grew bored with her line drawing. Lenalee lifted her head and smiled back at her friends, but Daisya had pulled his hood over his face and had drawn his cloak over his legs. Lenalee giggled. He looked like a lumpy, black tent to her. Kanda was sitting nearby in a mild shivering state, keeping his arms wrapped around his torso.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly

Kanda nodded. "I've always hated this weather."

"Why's that?" Lenalee asked. "I think it's very lovely. The snow's so light and fluffy and the icicles shine when they catch the light. Ooh, we should try ice-skating before winter is over! I heard some of the finders talking about it earlier and—"

"You _like_ having very little sunlight and a grey sky?"

"Well, no." Actually, she hated the lack of light the season brought. It reminded her too much of the darkness in the Order. "But isn't waiting for the blue sky and the sun again part of the excitement?"

Before Kanda could answer, the branches parted ways and Gwen's smiling face appeared. "Everything all right in there? Bit cold, are we?"

Daisya didn't lift his head, but a single hand emerged from the folds of his cloak and gave them all a thumbs up. Gwen let out a gentle laugh and turned to Lenalee. "And what about you? Kazana told me about. . ." She didn't finish and her blue eyes saddened at the sight of Lenalee's upset expression. "Ah, you're too young to have awful memories. Makes me think of when I arrived at the Order." She murmured to herself.

Lenalee perked her ears up, wondering if she would share her experiences. _Has miss Gwen gone through something terrible, too?_ She hadn't really thought of any of how the other exorcists had come to be at the Order. Sure, Daisya had told her his story, but given his free will in the matter, she'd assumed it was the same for everyone else. Now that she thought about it, she'd known Kanda for some time and had never asked about his background.

"What happened?" She asked softly.

Gwen's eyes hardened, crystal eyes becoming chips of ice. "That is a personal question, Lee." Her voice came out sharp as a whip, but then she must've realized what she'd said for she cleared her throat, eyes softening in immediate apology. "Sorry, _ma cheré_, I'm not scolding you. But don't ask any exorcist about how the Order identified them unless it's of the utmost importance. If they trust you, they'll tell you in their own time, but otherwise, it's. . .rather impolite."

Lenalee widened her eyes. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't—"

"I understand. You didn't know." Gwen smiled and put a finger to her lips. "That's why I'll forgive you." She winked and let the branches fall back into place. Lenalee lowered her head in regret.

Daisya lifted his eyes and patted her hair. "She's not mad, Moppet."

"I know. It's just. . ." She bowed her head. "I never even considered anyone else here has gone through what I have or even worse. I didn't think about them and that must make me seem like a hateful person."

"Oh, be quiet." Kanda muttered. "With what you've been through already, it makes sense why you wouldn't give a rat's tail about anyone else." Lenalee opened her mouth to protest but he beat her to it. "Gwen isn't angry and you're young enough not to think about anything like that."

Lenalee leaned against one of the branches. It made sense, she supposed. She herself wouldn't want to tell a complete stranger what she'd been through. "Then I won't do it again." She promised, folding her hands together as if in prayer. _From now on, I'll put my friends first. And Brother. They'll always come first._

They rode in silence for a while, listening to the sifting sound of the tree against the snow. At some point, Kanda took Mugen out and began carving patterns in the tree trunk, which Lenalee immediately put an end to. Denied any other form of entertainment, Daisya tried playing a variety of tunes with the Charity Bell, but only produced a rough, jangling sound with no rhyme or reason. Lenalee giggled as he shook his head in dismay and gave up. "Whatever, it's a former door bell." He glanced down. "This tree is dropping needles like crazy." He looked back up at them with a grin. "Want to count them?"

Lenalee rolled onto her belly and clung to the tree trunk. Her hood fell over her green hair as she bent her head down for a better view. As they passed, she began counting the tiny flecks in the white as fast as she could.

As it turned out, it was a task easier said than done. Simply put, there were too many needles in the snow and she soon found herself rapidly listing off numbers in chronological order rather than counting what she was supposed to. _Oh, well._ She thought. Surely Daisya was doing the same thing. Lenalee blew her hair out of her face and sat up again, brushing bangs out of her eyes.

"You need to cut those." Kanda advised. Lenalee sniffed and shook them out of her nose. "You have your brother back so there's no need to hide behind them anymore."

"Final count," Daisya announced, coming back up. "Six hundred forty-three. Plus two poop patties."

"Ew!" Lenalee squeaked.

He grinned at her face and started to speak when the tree slow to a halt and Gwen poked her head through the branches again. "_Bonjour!_ Come on out now!"

"We can't be back already." Kanda observed, sliding off the tree trunk and crawling out of the branches. Lenalee and Daisya followed suit. He was right; the Order hadn't been at all close to Gwen's choice of spots in the forest. As soon as Lenalee freed herself from the evergreen, she was suddenly swept up into a pair of gigantic hands and she shrieked without meaning to.

"Whoa, sorry 'bout that, girlie." Brutus smiled apologetically, showing his teeth. Lenalee noticed he had a couple gaps in his otherwise flawless smile. "Didn't mean to scare ya." Without absolutely no effort, he perched her on his muscled shoulder and pointed in the distance. "Someone's a comin'."

Lenalee squinted into the distance to see a flurry of white snow hurdling headed toward them. "Is it an akuma?" she asked, shrinking against his thick neck.

"Shoot, no!" Brutus laughed, large shoulders trembling in mirth. "That'd be miss Sol Galen comin' to greet us."

"Oh." Lenalee had heard of her and had seen her several times between the woman's missions. She remembered she wasn't much older than Gwen and had a pair of mismatched eyes; one aqua green and the other deep ocean blue. Her hair was an unusual powdery white color and was short in length with a single bead hairclip. There was really no need for the accessory, not some deactivated anti-akuma weapon, but it did give her a childish appearance.

With her long, black cloak billowing behind her, Sol cut an impressive figure. Unlike the other exorcists, her winter uniform resembled a Lapp parka and was made entirely of black and white furs, just like clothes of the northern people of her homeland. With an urging bark at the horses pulling the sleigh, she flicked the reins again.

Lenalee whimpered as the sound of the drumming hooves came into earshot. Sensing her discomfort, Brutus gave another toothy grin and patted her shoulder. "Don't you fret none, kiddo. If there any an exorcist who knows 'ow to drive a couple o' horses an' a sleigh, it's Sol."

Right at that moment, Sol pulled back on the reins. "Whoa!" called her sharp, piping voice. The pair of matching, dappled horses dug their hooves into the snow and slowed to a halt several yards from the main group. "Whoa, I say!"

Gwen rushed forward with her arms outstretched for a hug. "Solly,_ ma mie_!" She cried, throwing her arms around the willowy, Scandinavian woman's slim shoulders the moment she stepped out of the sleigh. "And Marie? _Comment es-tu, mon ami? _I haven't seen you since October!"

Lenalee craned her neck, having not noticed the big man in the back of the sleigh. "Well enough, Gwen. And yourself."

"Ah," Gwen pulled away from Sol and waved her hand dismissively. "We've been out here for the better part of the day. We're cold, we're tired' and we're hungry."

"Let us remedy a little of that." Sol offered, clapping her friend over her shoulder and starting back toward the sleigh. She grinned knowingly over her shoulder. "As a matter a fact, the main reason we came all the way out here is that Jerry sent us out with something for everyone."

-0-0-0-

Brutus didn't put Lenalee down until he was sure she'd received a cup of hot cocoa and a couple of cookies. And only after he'd brought her back to her friends did he leave her to go back to Gwen and Sol. Lenalee peeled her mittens off her hands and munched on her chocolate chip cookie. She guessed it was fresh, for it was still hot and felt soft.

"Hey, Moppet, you should try sticking it in your cocoa." Daisya advised, doing the same with his own. "It's really tasty that way." He turned. "Hey, Kanda, that cookie won't eat itself. Though that would be interesting to see."

Kanda ignored him and sniffed suspiciously at the steaming cup's contents. Lenalee smiled at him. "You drink it, silly."

He shot a glare in her direction, then took a long sip of the bitter liquid, licked his lower lip and turnedto Marie, who had been standing with them ever since he'd finished helping Sol pass out cocoa. "Why are you out here, anyway?"

"Sol asked me to help her distribute the cocoa." He large man replied, affectionately patting the boy's shoulder. "And I like the winter Sounds."

"What does it sound like?" Lenalee asked excitedly. She knew the elder exorcist had been blinded in a mission several years back and had been using his uncanny hearing ability for mobility, though she wasn't entirely sure how it worked. He'd tried to explain it to her multiple times, describing the frequency and vibrations of sound waves and whatnot, but she still didn't understand it.

Marie smiled in her direction. "It's difficult to explain."

"Oh." Lenalee nodded solemnly.

"Hey, think we ought to visit Town Below?" Daisya asked through a cookie stuffed in his mouth.

"You're disgusting." Kanda muttered. He took a bite of his own cookie, frowned for a second, then shrugged and took another. Lenalee was glad to see him eat it, even though he probably didn't like it one bit. The only reason he was eating a cookie was because he was probably hungry.

"Why do you want to go to Town Below?" Asked Lenalee. Sure, she had wanted to go today, but not if it would inconvenience her friends.

"Well, Kanda promised you a Christmas present and I'd better get you something too. Town Below seems like a good place to look." Daisya shrugged and swallowed hard, clutching at his throat and coughing slightly.

Marie gave him a stern look. "Master has told you many times before to chew your food." He sighed and turned to Kanda. "Are you going with them?"

Kanda glanced at Lenalee, then back to Marie. "I suppose."

"That settles it, then." Daisya stated, bolting down his half-empty cup of cocoa and completely ignoring Marie's earlier warning.

"And that is why I don't like dealing with morons." Kanda growled as the older boy shoveled snow into his scalded mouth.

Lenalee only giggled at Daisya's antics. He shoved his face into the snow, grasped at his throat, grappled with his coat collar, and leaped and bounded across the snow like a cat with string tied to the end of its tail. In the end, he was rolling in a snow bank and bemoaning his fate. "I'm okay!" He finally shouted, springing up again and rubbing his throat. "Ow, that was stupid, huh?"

Lenalee nodded, nearly in tears now.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Daisya demanded. Lenalee screamed as a chunk of snow suddenly hit her mouth.

"Daisya!" Marie scolded, fearing the girl had been hurt, but Lenalee had already set her cup of cocoa on the ground and was lobbing more snowballs at the older boy.

Daisya cackled in impish glee as he retreated, bounding over mounds of snow with Lenalee chasing after him. For a moment, he paused, waiting until she was in the finger's breath of grabbing him, then sped off again. Lenalee hurtled forward but tripped in the snow, drawing the older boy back to her and pulling his hood back over her green hair. Marie laughed at the Sound of their joy, but fell silent as he realized Kanda wasn't joining them. "Is something wrong?"

Kanda shook his head and took another sip of cocoa, holding the mug between two hands for warmth.

"You ought to join them." Marie encouraged. "You don't know when you'll be able to have fun like this again." He put a large hand on his shoulder, but Kanda shook it off. "Come now, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"You can tell me." Marie put his hand on the boy's head, stroking his short hair. This time, the boy didn't reject him. "It's all right, Kanda. If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to. But I am here to listen if you need me. Don't forget that." Ever since they met, he'd been very protective of this child who'd saved his life. Despite his fierce temper now, he could still picture the vulnerable, half-drowned boy he'd met, and then same boy gone mad with grief and fear. Ever since Director Bak Chan asked him to look after Kanda while he was at the Main Headquarters, he'd wanted to support the boy as much as he could, no matter how much Kanda seemed to resent it.

"Go play." Marie insisted, nudging him forward.

Kanda lowered his head and nodded, handing him his cup and trudging out across the snow. It was Lenalee who noticed him coming first. She scurried up to him and leaped for a flying hug, sending them tumbling back into the snow.

Lenalee perched herself on top of her friend and stuck her lower lip out. "Don't look so gloomy all the time! Can't you smile at least once in a while?"

Kanda neatly avoided confrontation with the question, "I thought we were going to Town Below."

"Ooh!" Lenalee cried, clapping her hands in excitement. She'd almost forgotten. "Can we go now? Oh, please!"

"Sure, duckling." His eyes narrowed. "Get off me."

Lenalee clambered off and rolled away in the snow, getting even more flakes in her hair. Still laughing, Daisya approached and held his hand out. "Need a hand?" Kanda grasped it and let the older exorcist pull him to his feet. "There we go." But he pulled him closer and said in a low tone, "Town Below's quite the distance, isn't it? If we walk, we'll get there late this evening. You understand, right?"

"We'd have to take the horses." Kanda concluded, casting a glance at Lenalee but the girl had gone back to Marie and her abandoned cocoa cup.

"Right." Daisya sighed in contemplation. "What should we do?"

Kanda shrugged. "We could ask her if she's okay with it."

"Why is she so scared of the horses?" He flinched when Kanda glared murderously at him. "What? What did I say?" It was a simple question and he was curious; he didn't think there was anything personal about it.

Kanda's glare lifted slightly. "Oh, that's right. You weren't here."

"Huh?"

He nodded in Lenalee's direction. "You've heard about what she went through, right?"

Daisya nodded. Everyone in the Order had heard about her trying initiation into the exorcist's life. He'd joined toward the end of her trials, but from what he'd heard, it had been much worse than what he'd seen. "Was there an accident in the stables then?"

Kanda shook his head. "No, she tried escaping on one of the horses. The Order caught her before she make a quarter mile. She was locked in the prison for a few days."

"God." Daisya put his hands on his hips and kicked despondently at the snow. He'd heard of prison existing in the Order's floor plan before, but not of its location or precisely what it looked like. Supposedly, the Order's miserable dungeon lay deep below the foundation, deeper even than Hevlaska's chamber. Only traitors and apparently particularly rebellious exorcists were condemned to its blackness. "And here I thought I didn't want to join at first. I actually _wanted_ to get away from my family for a bit. But then I'm thirteen and she was. . .how old?"

"Six."

Daisya whistled. "So what did you do when you found out about the runaway horse incident?"

"Lenalee, come here a second!" Kanda called, conveniently ignoring the question.

The shout brought the younger girl skipping merrily toward them. She stopped in front of them with an enthusiastic jump, planting both feet in the snow and creating two deep footprints. "Yes?" she asked, brushing her bangs out of her face.

"Well. . .hrm." Daisya scratched at his hair. "The thing is. . ."

"It's impossible to get to Town Below at a reasonable time on foot." Kanda intervened.

Lenalee's smile faded. "Oh." She shuffled her feet, trying not to look disappointed but she wasn't fooling the boys. If they couldn't walk there, they—Lenalee looked up at them in alarm.

"It's just a suggestion." Daisya held up his hands in a placating motion. "We don't have to if you don't want." He kicked Kanda's leg suddenly, earning a glare from the younger boy. "Hey, you reassure her too, rock."

He sighed and looked down at her. "Don't have to." He repeated. "Town Below will be there tomorrow."

"But it's Christmas tomorrow." Lenalee pointed out. "I won't be able to get anything for you two. Or Marie and Brother."

"Christ, she's got a point on that one." Daisya forced a grin and patted her hair. "Smart girl."

Lenalee smiled weakly at the praise. _I don't want to ride the horses again._ Her Dark Boots felt unusually cold on her feet and her knees knocked together._ I have Brother back now. There shouldn't be anything to be afraid of._ The horses were gentle enough, but they reminded her too much those days.

"You remember Amaterasu was afraid to look outside the cave?" Kanda asked suddenly. Daisya turned to him with a 'the hell are you saying' expression.

Lenalee nodded.

"Did she?"

She nodded again. The story of how Amaterasu restored light to the world was her favorite and she begged Kanda to tell it to her as often as she could. The Shinto sun goddess, Amaterasu, was hurt by her brother and husband Susanowo so she fled to hide in a cave, shutting her light inside with her. It took several years, but the other gods finally coaxed her into leaving and the sun rose again.

"And did Amaterasu-sama enjoy bringing warmth to the world?" Kanda asked, crossing his arms.

"I'm not her." Lenalee said dismally, dropping her head. "I'll bet she wasn't afraid of horses." Her head shot up again. "But she was afraid of big brothers!"

"I don't think that's how it went."

Daisya clapped his fist into the palm of his other hand. "Oh, I get it. What Kanda's trying to say is this Ama-whoever—"

"Amaterasu!" Lenalee cried, outraged.

"Fine! She was afraid to look outside, but she eventually had the courage to and she liked it." Daisya knelt in front of her. "So maybe our little princess will find the horses aren't all that bad. Regardless of the scars."

Lenalee pondered it, looking back and forth between the two of them. Their faces were hopeful and encouraging but she could tell they were leaving it up to her. She turned around and looked at a nearby group of finders tending to some of the horses, including Mary Blue and Rosa. They seemed perfectly at ease with the animals. "Okay." She said quietly.

Daisya leaped up with a loud whoop and nearly lost his balance when he came back down. He grinned in triumph when he balanced himself out, but Kanda made sure to shove him over into the snow. "Why you—!"

Before their horsing around could escalate, Lenalee ran back to Marie to fill the older man in on what they were planning.

"Did they talk you into this?" He asked, frowning

"Sort of." Lenalee admitted. "But it was my decision. I'll go."

Marie looked like he was about to protest, but all he said was, "All right, then, but don't let those two make you do something you don't want to. I'm not too worried about Kanda, but we all know how Daisya is."

Lenalee nodded. "I'll be fine." She started to leave, but turned back to him. "One more thing. I should probably tell miss Gwen where we're going. Can you tell me where she is, Marie?"

Marie smiled warmly and tuned into the Sounds, concentrating on the many voices throughout the expedition. Getting a clear view of the general area the group covered, he singled out the few female voices, listening for Gwendolyn's distinct French tones. "She's over there." Marie pointed. "Talking to Sol and Brutus."

"Thank you." Lenalee bowed her head and took off through the crowd, kicking up flurries of snow in her wake. Finders moved out of her way as did the older exorcists who'd tagged along. "Whoa, there!" Kazana cried when she nearly ran into him. Lenalee apologized and continued on her way.

As promised, Gwen was with her friends, still drinking cocoa. Brutus roared with laughter at something she said, clapping a giant's hand on Sol's slight shoulder with such force, Lenalee was shocked the delicate woman didn't topple over. The other woman was perched atop the sleigh, long legs crossed one over the other. Lenalee tilted her head. _She's lovely._

"So how is everything in this part of the world?" Sol asked the other two, "Any good trees to be found?"

Gwen took a sip of her cocoa and nodded like an eager child. "We cut down eight. Three yews and four scots pine. The last one I wasn't sure, so it's our mystery Christmas tree."

Sol whistled appreciatively. "That's pretty nifty. And-" She spotted Lenalee. "Well, look at this. I didn't know our own little China doll was out here."

"Sure is." Gwen smiled, eyes narrowed blissfully. "The _petit mignon_ been with us since we left." Lenalee blushed red. "What can I do for you, _mon chéri?_"

"Daisya, Kanda, and I are going to Town Below." Lenalee said quietly. "Is that all right, miss Gwen?"

Brutus and the two women looked at each other speculatively, then the big man warned, "You won't make it back before nightfall if you walk. And Kazana told us about what happened wit' the horses earlier, you know."

"We've talked about that." Lenalee said hesitantly.

"About what?" Sol looked confused, but her face lit up in understanding when Gwen and Brutus gave her a significant look. "Oh."

Gwen nodded at her, then turned back to Lenalee with a kind, almost motherly smile. "Run along, then. And tell Daisya and Kanda they'd better not give you too much trouble. I'll deal with them myself if that happens."

"Okay, I'll pass the message."

"Ooh, what a lucky girl you are, having two strong boys to protect you." Sol leaned forward, smiling like a cat with a mouse. Lenalee turned red in the face again and scurried away, followed by the woman's laughter.

-0-0-0-

"I hope I'm as pretty as miss Sol is when I grow up." Lenalee mused wistfully, once again perched atop Mary Blue and keeping her arms locked around Kanda's thin waist. "Or miss Gwen."

Kanda looked back at her for a moment, then turned back to the road ahead. "Why those two?"

"Don't you think they're pretty?" she asked.

Actually, she had no idea what her friend found beautiful, but he considered the question for a couple minutes. "Perhaps."

"I think they are." Lenalee insisted. _And Sol came to the Order freely, too._ Or so she'd heard. She'd been identified as an exorcist by General Cloud Nyne five or six years ago. Her weapon was a large, full-length scythe, which she used with terrifying accuracy and power. Lenalee liked the weapons with sharp edges, like the scythe or Mugen. They seemed so graceful yet so deadly at the same time. Sol never had any trouble transporting the normally cumbersome weapon, swinging it around as though it were paper.

"Yeah, she is pretty." Daisya agreed, reaching over and patting Lenalee's dark hair. "I'm sure you'll grow up just like her."

"Independent, too."

"Why not?" He laughed. "How are you doing over there, anyway? Scared of falling?"

"A little." Lenalee admitted. "But not as bad as before, promise." It was a little exciting now, she realized. Every now and then, their mount jolted precariously or stumbled a little in the snow drifts, but she never fell. Peering past Kanda, she realized she liked watching Mary Blue's head as it bobbed up and down while she was trotting. In this way, spotted Town Below long before Daisya pointed it out to her and they brought their horses to a much slower gait.

Town Below was larger than she remembered and the square hadn't been so crowded. The horses left u-shaped prints in the snow as they clopped through the crowded streets. There were two or more sleighs making their way through the crowd, but Lenalee was acutely aware of many people staring at the them. She wished she'd covered up the Rose Cross on her coat and it wasn't emblazoned on their black leather saddles. That way people wouldn't know who they were.

"Would you like one, miss exorcist?" Lenalee whirled around to see a girl, not much older than her, trotting alongside Mary Blue with a basket in the crook of her arm and an apple in her hand. "A nice apple for the little exorcist girl?"

Lenalee didn't know what to say that wouldn't offend her so she shook her head nervously. She didn't have money for an apple.

"I'll take one." Daisya called before the girl could vanish within the crowd. Pulling a small bag of change from his pockets, he leaned down and took a couple apples from the girl and passed her a handful of coins in exchange, then mounted Rosa again to follow Kanda to Town Below's stables.

As they set off again, Lenalee kept a wary eye on the crowd. She'd seen exorcists returning from missions with bruises and cuts they'd received from distrusting townsfolk. Were Town Below's people like that? She frowned at the crowd stepping out of the way for the horses (understandable enough), but somewhere to her right, a woman lifted an excited, small child up for a better view. Lenalee smiled at the broad grin on his face and waved her hand a little.

The Town Below's livery was almost full thanks to the increase of people visiting for the holidays. The poor stable boy apologized and promised to make room until Lenalee was sure he was going to bite his tongue off. Kanda shook his head and slid off Mary Blue, then turned to help Lenalee down. The grey mare shook herself and reached her head down to nuzzle Kanda's hair.

"Get off!" He snapped, pushing her muzzle away.

"She likes you." Lenalee giggled.

"I know that, but she doesn't have to keep nosing my head." Kanda frowned irritably as Mary Blue rubbed the bridge of her nose against his cheek. "Stop that!"

"But she's kissing you!" Lenalee smiled, earning her a fierce look, though the effect was dulled by the dark horse nose snuffling his cheek.

Daisya snickered as the stable boy came running back to lead both horses away. "You can retrieve them at any time. Put that away, Master Exorcist." He said to Daisya as he was pulling a bag of coins out of his back pocket. "We don't charge exorcists."

The Turkish exorcist raised his eyebrows "Okay, thanks." Then turned to the others. "Shall we go?"

-0-0-0-

Town Below's market was rich with color and variety, much like the port cities Lenalee had grown up around before she'd joined the Order. There was stall after stall along the wide circumference of the town square and each with its own unique products: fabric, spices, bread, gemstones, toys, almost everything she could name. And the plaza was _packed_ with shoppers pushing their way about like chickens in tight quarters. All around, men advertised and shouted prices, nearly drowning out the group of musicians at the edge of the square. They were of four men with a couple fiddles, an accordion, a small drum, and a dancing woman flourishing a tambourine.

Long cables extended from shops, restaurants, and tenement buildings along the square, spanning the area like huge web and joining together in the center where a tall, grey-green statue of a man holding a lantern aloft stood in the center, icicles clinging to his arms. Morgan de Grayman, the very first exorcist. Lights and greenery were strung across these cables, but were unlit due to the brightness of daylight.

Clutching Kanda and Daisya's hands so as not to lose them in the crowd, Lenalee stood on her toes and inhaled deeply, smelling something hot and delicious cooking at a nearby food booth. "What's that?" she asked, peering at some fish-shaped, golden-brown cakes.

"Taiyaki." Kanda followed her gaze. "It's a type of cake sold in Japan. They're supposed to be filled with some kind of flavoring, but I've never tried one."

"Hey, Moppet," Daisya let go of her hand, crossed his arms behind his head, and stretched. "I heard once in Chinese culture, you have an animal for each year. That true?"

Lenalee finished inspecting the stall and nodded excitedly. "Yes we do! We have New Years in China instead of Christmas. This year is the Snake's Year." She pointed at him. "And since you're thirteen years old, you had to have been born in a Year of the Dragon."

"Cool." He grinned. "What about you two?"

"Um. . ." Lenalee frowned, trying to remember the order of the zodiac. It had been so long since she thought about it. In the house she was born in, there had been a colorful wall hanging in the kitchen featuring each animal in the order they'd come to sit at the Buddha's side. "Well, I think the Dragon came right before, so maybe the Monkey would be Kanda's sign." She smiled brightly. "But I remember I was a Sheep child!"

"Baa!" Daisya bleeted, holding his hands out and running at her. "Baa! Baa!"

Lenalee squealed and took off in the opposite direction, her short legs a blur against the cobbles. "Daisya, stop!" She laughed.

"Baa!" He insisted, scooping her up and swinging her around when he caught her. "The Dragon's caught you now and he's gonna eat you!"

Lenalee screamed in laughter as the older boy bit her neck and made loud gobbling sounds. "Kanda, help me!"

Kanda gave her a uninterested glance, reminding her a little of a cat. "I'm a Snake. Not the Monkey. It's the Rat, the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and the Boar."

"Oh, right! That's the right order!" Lenalee nodded, wriggling out of Daisya's less attentive grasp.

Her friend nodded somberly. "New Years is pretty big in Asia Branch." He held up his pale hands for emphasis. "They have a _big_ party every year and since they're the richest branch in the Order, they spare no expense." At their skeptical expressions, he glared at them. "It's true."

"No, we were just wondering how you knew that." Daisya stated, holding his hands out to signify no offense.

"I was born there."

_Eh?_ Lenalee opened her mouth a little, eyes widening and her heart growing cold. Beside her, Daisya was unusually subdued, staring at the younger boy in shock. "You're _from_ the Order?" She'd known he'd been here longer than she had, and that he rarely talked about his past but _born_ into the demon war? "Really, Kanda?"

He nodded. "Asia Branch, July Sixth. Been here my whole life."

"Where are your parents, then?" Lenalee asked. Most exorcists had family outside the Order, unqualified to join alongside their son or sister or whoever. But if Kanda's parents were with the Order, who were they? Were they finders, scientists, one a doctor, the other with the communications department, one Crow and the other a cook? Maybe one of them was another exorcist. Accommodating Innocence didn't normally run in families, but every so often there was the exception.

Kanda looked taken aback by the question and stammered, "Dead. Both of them. They were both scientists and they were killed in a lab accident a few years back. That's why I came to the European Branch."

"Jeez." Daisya scratched the back of his head. "So you never even _had_ a chance for a happy childhood, growing up in all this mess and all."

"It's my inheritance." Kanda grinned a little too broadly and crossed his irately arms. "And who says I've had a bad childhood? It's been a fairy decent life, all things considered. Now are we here to find a Christmas present, or are we gonna stand around all day and discuss my history." He turned to Lenalee. "You'd better wander then if you want your present to be a surprise. If not, do what you want. I could care less."

Lenalee shuffled her feet. "When should I meet you back here?"

"I'll come with you." Daisya volunteered, gripping her small hand and swinging it back and forth. "The two of us have never hung out before. You want to?"

The girl nodded and grinned. "Okay. Kanda, I know how often you like to keep to yourself."

"I don't have a problem." He muttered as he turned to leave. "I'll meet you two in an hour by the de Grayman fountain there." He pointed at the frozen over fountain in the middle of the square. "Got it?" Kanda asked, then swung around on his heels and stepped off at a brisk pace.

"Bye-bye!" Lenalee called while Daisya only asked, "Is that shark they're frying over there?"

-0-0-0-

Since when did he start sharing insight to his past, Kanda thought bitterly as he memorized the location of their meeting place and darted through the crowd, eager to get away from the other two. He wove between men and women swarming the market square, hating the claustrophobic feeling they pressed in on him. There were too many in one place. He never talked about his life before coming to the Main Headquarters, not that he was shy or ashamed of it; he just didn't see how it was anyone's business.

Kanda ran until he found a break in the crowd, only then he stopped to catch his breath and pull his bangs out of his face. His life in Asia Branch was just a memory he didn't care for. As it had been doing so discreetly since he left the Order, his hand wandered to his coat pocket and squeezed. He let out a of breath of air, feeling the familiar, metallic cylinder.

Shortly after Lenalee had left his room that morning and he'd retrieved his winter coat, the Chief had stopped him in the hall. _'I can't leave the Order right now and you seem to be close to Lenalee. I was wondering if you'd be willing to pick out something I could give her for Christmas. Anything you think she'd like will do, but try not spending all of this.'_

"Tch." Kanda glowered at the measly amount of coins in his hand, eight pence and a crown and some old, tarnished Chinese coin he was pretty sure no shop in Town Below would accept. He must've given it to him by accident. Frowning, he turned to the amount he'd brought from his own pocket money, a noble and two farthings. He'd found the farthings lying around on the street over the last three months, but the noble was a reparation expense for a punishment he'd unfairly received from the Order two years before.

Kanda set off through the crowd at a quick pace, avoiding tall adults and small children selling candy, poinsettias, holly, mistletoe, tree stars, or something that looked like an oversized sock. The group of minstrels had begun playing a rhythmic street waltz and he observed the people dancing in the square would hamper his passing. With a sigh, he dove into the crowd to go around.

Lenalee would like new clothes, he remembered. She hated wearing those somber, black dresses and they made her look sad and tragic. Kanda stopped a couple yards away from a booth that appeared to be selling fabric, but the man standing there passed a parcel wrapped with blue paper to a woman and returned to his advertising. "Don't be shy, ladies and gentlemen! The finest clothes from here in England all the way to China! Anything rough for travel or fancy for the holiday season, we have it."

Kanda blinked thoughtfully, then continued on his way. Maybe he would come back when the rush had died down. The vendor looked as though he would be busy for a time.

_That takes care of her brother._ He thought, checking his pockets again. Kanda wrapped his coat tighter around himself as a gust of wind blew over the square, jangling the bells strung from the greenery hanging between stalls. _It's too cold._ He noted, his teeth chattering by now.

As he wandered from one stall to the next, he began to consider maybe it would have been better to have Daisya's help. Most of Lenalee's likes and dislikes, outside of food and nonmaterial things, were unknown to him. She liked stories, so much so he could tell her one fable and she would love it for months. But he told her stories all the time, mostly to shut her up when she annoyed him, therefore telling her a new one wouldn't be anything special. She couldn't read a word in English, so a book was out of the question. Unless he found some Chinese storybook, but that was unlikely.

Every now and then, Kanda paused and stood on his toes to peer at the wares at a particular stall, then moved onward. He didn't think she liked jewelry; he'd never seen her wearing any. Besides, shiny rocks and polished metal was beyond what he had in his pocket, even if he skimmed from her brother's money. _So what am I left with?_

From what he could tell, she already had what she wanted most. Her long lost brother.

And it wasn't just her. Daisya would probably want something, too, although he was clueless on that matter entirely. There was no predicting him. "Wretched grey." He remarked distractedly to the sky as he walked. He longed to see the blue expanse again, just like on that terrible day. A sky so beautiful it was tragic.

Suddenly, his foot snagged on a loose stone in the street and he stumbled. Kanda scowled and examined the now wider tear in his boot. If there was anything _he_ needed for Christmas it was definitely a new pair of shoes. He should've sent a notice to Komui long before, but—Kanda broke off the train of thought, something occurring to him. Lenalee didn't read English, but surely the new Supervisor could.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" He asked, politely tugging at the skirt of a woman before she could sweep past him. "Is there a bookshop nearby?"

She nodded, staring at the crest on his coat in astonishment. "C-Certainly, Master Exorcist. I could show you to Adder's Booksellers if you like? It's a little hard to find."

"That won't be necessary; I'd prefer directions."

-0-0-0-

Clinging to Daisya's hand, Lenalee pushed her way through the crowd as she was jostled left and right by long legs and bags. The older exorcist walked slowly for her to keep up, but she could tell he was getting frustrated with the crowd. "It's like Bodrum." He muttered. "But colder."

"What's Bodrum."

"Where I'm from." He drew her close to avoid a cart rumbling through the crowd. "My folks ran a souvenir shop. They'd have a field day here."

Lenalee giggled and dipped her hand into her pocket, squeezing the small bag she'd just purchased from a terrifying, witch-like saleswoman. In her mind, if she'd linger any longer, the woman would have stood up and waved a walking stick to beat her with. Not that Lenalee expected her to do such a thing, but she didn't want to take any chances. "You're from Turkey, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Like the bird."

"What?" Daisya looked back at her in confusion. "Bird?"

Lenalee nodded, grinning mischievously. "Turkey. Bird."

"Pfft!" The older boy wrapped his wiry arms around her and patted her shoulder. "You're silly, Moppet. Turkey's a country, too." She giggled and buried her face in his chest, snugly squeezing his waist. Daisya rest his chin against the top of her head. "You're so cute, but what do you want for Christmas?"

"Mmm…" Lenalee pondered, muffled by his coat. "Maybe a toy? Or a game? I really don't know. I wanted my brother back for the longest time, but…I guess I don't really want anything else right now." She tightened her hold on him and mumbled something.

Daisya pulled away so he could see her face. "What'd you say?"

"I want Kanda to smile."

**Translations**

Ma cheré – my dear (French)

Bonjour! – Hello! (French)

Ma mie – My friend (French, used when addressing a woman.)

Comment es-tu, mon ami? – How are you, my friend? (French)

Petit mignon – Little darling (French)

Mon chéri? – My dearie


	3. Roots

Roots

As the white, winter sun began to dip low in the west, Daisya concluded Sir Lancelot could've found the Holy Grail _before_ Galahad in quicker time than convincing Kanda to at least grin. Of course he didn't voice such thoughts aloud—Lenalee's cheerful smile banished the thought—but this task was monumental compared to the simple gift he'd picked out for her. As the light, canvas bag bumped against his hip, he kept his eyes on the ground as they pushed their way through the crowd of shoppers toward a more or less empty platform where the train was due to arrive.

Lenalee clutched his hand and Kanda's, who'd rejoined them not five minutes ago, materializing out of the swarm of people so silently, it had taken them more than a couple minutes to notice he'd returned at all. However, he was hard to miss after a poorly timed remark at the younger accommodator's feminine appearance and the resulting black eye rightly deserved from said unwitting comment.

"I said I was sorry." Daisya snapped, gingerly tapping his swollen, discolored skin. "But did you _have_ to punch me?"

Kanda said nothing, seething with anger and far from smiling as Lenalee wished. Though a little discouraged by the thought, Lenalee convinced herself not to give up. She still had the rest of today and part of tomorrow to accomplish her task. But maybe wishing for such a thing was just as improbable as the mystic Grail. Lenalee's face fell. _Maybe Kanda just won't smile at all, no matter what I try._ Dejectedly squeezing his hand tighter (and unknowingly diffusing another release of pent up rage), Lenalee asked quietly, "Doesn't the culture in Town Below seem. . .you know, mixed? It doesn't seem like an ordinary small, _Englishtown_ market."

There were too many cultures in one place. Through the entirety of the afternoon, she'd seen carpets from Egypt, silk from the East, spices from India, tobacco from America, and hundreds of others she couldn't bring to mind. Surely such a small town wouldn't have so much diversity; one would have to travel all the way to London for such an international assortment.

"Don't you know what Town Below is, Moppet?" Daisya laughed, kicking at a chunk of ice on the ground and sending it skittering away.

Lenalee frowned, tightening her grip on his hand as she was nearly swept away by a very tall man carrying a load of canvas bags. "I don't understand."

"Exorcists come from all around the world." Kanda explained, looking bored as he swung one of their shopping bags around on his fingers. "This town reflects those worldwide cultures and every citizen here is a supporter of the exorcists. Tradesmen come from all over. Even some of the finders have lodgings here, as well as the occasional scientist."

"Right, like that Russell guy, the scientist." Daisya quipped. "He has family here. I'll bet your brother stayed here for a time, too, before he became the head of the Order."

Lenalee looked at her surroundings. Most of Town Below's buildings were brick, and there were a lot of shops, restaurants, and other businesses. There was a small school and at least two theaters, the most popular being the Fantasia Theater. (She'd seen advertisements for it in the newspaper printed in Town Below.) But now that she really looked at the town, she supposed a lot of the buildings did indeed look like tenement houses. "So it's a boarding town?"

"Not only that. The diverse market provides the Order with the tools and chemicals the scientists need, the sturdy material used in our coats, and the freshest produce and the best quality food." Daisya continued. "And it shelters the Order's inhabitants during big disasters like fires or major lab accidents or things like that."

"Oh." Lenalee nodded. She remembered her brother talking to several senior members of the science division about improving the safety precautions in the lab to prevent accidents. Of course the scientists were always careful, especially with their trial and error projects, but every once in a while something would explode and set off an inferno. Maybe a flammable chemical solution would ignite spontaneously, or a forgotten candle would light up half the library.

"Okay, I get it." She nodded as a long, black train pulled up to the nearby platform, it's loud whistle nearly drowning out her words. "And doesn't the Order stay in Town Below when everyone gets really sick?"

"Only if it's a serious epidemic when simply quarantining the Sanatorium isn't enough." Kanda frowned. "The last time the Order stayed here was in 1824 during a tuberculosis outbreak."

"Where did you hear about that?" Daisya asked.

Before Lenalee could listen to the answer, she glimpsed a familiar person strolling through the crowd. He seemed a bit more tattered than he had when she'd seen him last and he walked with a slight limp, but there was no mistake. Lenalee widened her eyes and ran forward. "It's Mr. Tiedoll!"

The exorcist general whirled around upon hearing her and shouted, "Is that Lenalee I hear?"

Lenalee raised her hand and leaped upward to make herself known in the crowd. "I'm here, I'm here!"

A pair hands grabbed her under her arms and lifted her into the air. "So you are. You've certainly grown a little since I last saw you." Lenalee smiled in pride and buried her face in his coat for a hug. As usual, the man smelled acutely of paint and charcoal. "Are you here by yourself?"

The girl shook her head and twisted to point to where she'd come. "Kanda and Daisya came with me."

At the sound of their names, the boys slipped out of the crowd and approached without the enthusiasm Lenalee had displayed. "Good afternoon, General." Kanda murmured in sullen tones.

"Hello." Daisya acknowledged, equally subdued.

"Good heavens, Daisya!" The old man cried. "What on earth happened to your eye?"

"He happened." Daisya jabbed an accusing finger at Kanda.

General Tiedoll sighed despairingly. "Still a violent temper as always, Yu?"

"Boy's got sense if he's got killing on the mind." Came a gruff voice. Lenalee squeaked in alarm, shrinking into herself as if to hide from the massive fellow coming up behind Tiedoll. Brutus was big man, but as General Zokalo materialized behind Tiedoll, massive boots thudding against the platform, she could easily imagine the scary exorcist dwarfing him. As usual, his scarred face was concealed behind a grey mask with small slits for eyeholes. The sight of him earned the group quite a few awed stares from the Christmas shoppers around them and more than a few gossipy whispers and quickened paces.

"Killing is not what being an exorcist is all about." Chided a woman's voice. General Cloud Nyne made an appearance behind the Mexican general, her anti-akuma weapon, Lau Jimin (Was he wearing a scarf?), perched snugly on her shoulder. "You know this."

"Wait, did all the generals arrive on the same train?" Lenalee asked incredulously. It was rare to see all of them in one place outside the Order's fortress, even within their territory. But the idea of them traveling the same way all at once? Impossible!

"Not quite." A new voice amended gently. "Kevin and I arrived by sea."

Lenalee stiffened.

"Oh, good day, Tobias! Kevin!" Tiedoll greeted warmly, lowering the girl back to the ground. But as soon as her toes touched the cobblestones, she darted between Kanda and Daisya and stared the newcomers.

They were both Generals. One was an old man, probably in his eighties if his long white hair was anything to go by, and he wore something of a cloak-like uniform. As he cheerfully raised his hand in greeting, Lenalee glimpsed a number of chains coiled around his arms. The man beside him merely nodded distantly. His uniform was of the standard design, except with a hood he kept pulled over his slightly curly, brown hair. He was a little younger than his companion and his stature sturdier. His anti-akuma weapon was more conspicuous than his companion's, slung across his back in the form of an English longbow.

"_How do you do, child? Do you live around here? I'd like to speak to your parents if that's all right."_

"It's a pleasure to see all of you again." He spoke perfect English, but a touch of a German accent slipped into his speech, interfering with his r's, making them harsher than British speech. Lenalee shrank back as his deep, forest green eyes focused on her. "How do you do, Lenalee?"

Lenalee refused to answer, slipping even further behind her friends, who noticed her reaction and discreetly shifted to stand in front of her.

"_It's an uncanny substance. Whom it chooses to accommodate and why is a mystery to us. Men and woman and children, Innocence does not discriminate. And I fear a shard has chosen your sister."_

The man cocked his head to the side, glanced at his fellow generals, cleared his throat and turned to the elderly accommodator beside him. "Well, I do believe you know everyone here except for this young lady. This is Lenalee Lee, the girl—

Don't say it!

"_There's only one course of action to take. I'll be bringing Lenalee to the Black Order and she'll be trained as an exorcist. A straightforward job but dangerous. I guarantee she'll be well cared for. In return for their service, exorcists are honored, respected, and are treated as upper class citizens"_

"—I identified during an assignment I took in China."

"_I'm afraid joining the Order for non-exorcists is much more complicated. We don't simply allow anyone to join. Are there any noteworthy skills you're capable of? If not, I'm afraid Lenalee will be coming alone. But I suggest you enlist immediately and work as hard as you possibly can. In the meantime, I'll take your sister. It's too risky for her to remain here with an unrefined weapon. The akuma may already be aware of her existence."_

General Tobias Mandel. The very exorcist who'd taken her from her brother.

Trembling, Lenalee lowered her head and remembered the night she was forcibly taken, bewildered, from the house where she was born. She hadn't fully understood what was happening at the time, just that she was being separated from Komui. Of course, he hugged and kissed her goodbye and promised he would see her as soon as possible, which had abated some of her fears. However, she didn't like the way he said this Lord Mandel was taking her away. She remember him crying as she was led away with her tiny hand trapped in one of a stranger and settled inside a black coach adorned with the silver Rose Cross.

Daisya's hand closed around hers and gave a reassuring squeeze, drawing her back into the present. Lenalee jolted in surprise and looked up to find him smiling gently. "Everything's okay, Moppet."

"_Hai_." Kanda lisped beside her, though he kept his black eyes trained on the crowded train platform. "Let's go. At this rate, Central will rear their ugly heads."

"Good point." Daisya agreed, leading their sister by the hand as he followed Kanda off the platform, disappearing amongst the Christmas shoppers, departing passengers, and reuniting families. "Are we going home?"

Home? Lenalee turned her head to look at the Black Order's fortress looming in the distance. In the fading light, the tower was coal black and illuminated by a series of gleaming lanterns. With a startled jolt, she realized this was the first time in four years she'd seen the Order from the outside. Four years she'd been shut in the dark, unable to put so much as a toe out the door. Central mistrusted her that much. Four years, she lived seeing awful things from battle wounds to children dying from Innocence trials. Four years she'd been subjugated to living without her brother.

How could she call that black shape marring the skyline her home?

-0-0-0-

It was unnerving how their eyes appeared. Whenever he saw them, the only words that came to mind were 'submissive' and 'wary'. The people of the Order seemed to tiptoe around him, flashing discreet glances like hunted animals. They treated him with what felt like artificial respect, as though he would enforce unspeakable and cruel punishments upon them if they didn't show proper reverence.

Although he'd led the Main Headquarters for a couple months, it was clear the intimidation spawned by his predecessor had not yet relinquished its hold on the inhabitants. Even standing in the door of his office, watching them haul tree after tree from the canals, Komui observed the guarded expressions of the exorcists and the finders as they passed by, if they even looked at him at all.

If they did, it was usually by accident. Most of them smiled in discussion with their neighbor when they happened to notice him watching. Their smiles usually faded and they would nod curtly, continuing their undertaking with a renewed air of obedience. The hallway filled with an uncanny silence, save for the brushing of needles and branches against the stone floors.

_Be silent. The Supervisor of the Black Order is watching._

Komui sighed as yet another finder quickly avoided his eyes, so he turned down the gigantic corridor in search of his sister. There had been no news of her that could be gleaned from the few finders he'd asked of her whereabouts. All of them seemed so paranoid with their ignorance he didn't dare question them further. But where was Lenalee? Knowing her, she would've come running straight to him the second the troupe reached the front gate. However, it had been almost thirty minutes since the first tree was dragged past and girl was still absent.

When he was about to stop a fourth finder, Komui heard someone scream his name. It wasn't his sister. He shouted in alarm as Exorcist Gwen Frere materialized and energetically threw herself at him. Komui was compelled to take a step back and pivot slightly to avoid toppling over. "Whee-oo!" The French accommodator squealed, throwing her arms around him and speaking very rapidly in her native tongue.

"Miss Frere! Frere!" He cried, holding his hands up in surrender and staring in astonishment at the woman's short, trendy, brown hair. So far as he'd seen, Gwen had been one of the more reserved exorcists, not bothering to hide her suspicious glares. Every time he'd given her an assignment in the past two months, she regarded him in disdain and seemed to want nothing more than to be out of his office. "What's wrong?"

"_Merci! Merci beaucoup! Whooo!"_ Gwen finally pulled away, hands on his cheeks and laughing with her crystal eyes bright as an ecstatic schoolgirl's. "Thank you so much!" She finally blurted in English, patting his face multiple times before hugging him again.

He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her lithe frame, though utterly confused and distinctly sensing he'd missed something. Around them, the other volunteers of the tree expedition stared at them in shock and altogether ceased their activity, whispering amongst themselves.

Komui heard a deep, throaty laugh and a huge hand slapped him in the back, knocking him forward and causing his chin to hit Gwen's head.

"Ouch!" She cried, pulling away and rubbing the sore spot. "Brutus, control your strength, big guy!"

The giant exorcist flashed a toothy grin at them and clapped a hand over Komui's shoulder. "Apologies! Had to thank ye again, Chief."

Komui massaged a hand against his jawline. "I feel thanked. This seems to be more than one tree." A look of apprehension appeared on their faces so suddenly he immediately amended. "Are you inviting the forest for Christmas?"

"_Oui._" Gwen smiled, tilting her head and turning to Brutus. "Come, we'd best help bring up the rest. _Merci, Superviseur Lee!"_

Before they could disappear into the felled trees again, Komui stopped them. "Hold up, have you seen my sister?"

"Huh, zhey're not back yet?" Gwen asked, looking genuinely surprised, which sent a jolt of panic through him. "Not to worry. Zhey went into Town Below for some Christmas shopping."

"They?"

"She's with Daisya and Kanda." She winked. "Don't worry, Chief. Those two will keep her out of trouble."

Brutus snorted good-naturedly. "More like the other way around, Gwenny."

The female sniper sent him a considering frown, then smiled with a slight shrug and began tugging away at the tree, though Brutus was undoubtedly accomplishing most of the work. Komui relaxed somewhat but found himself falling into step with the two accommodators, grappling with a cable secured around the tree's severed trunk. "She seems to get along very well with those two." He commented.

"She adores them." Gwen agreed. "Who wouldn't? Daisya may be a little immature and Kanda's normally grouchy, but both of them can be really sweet when they choose to be."

"I see."

"All three of them are joined at the hip." Brutus grunted and seized considerable number of cables in his gorilla-like hands, then heaved the tree another five feet in one powerful stroke. Komui yelped in alarm, trotting to keep up and grasping another cable. It felt like being a little kid again, helping the adults bring in a load of rice back home. "Pretty sure they stayed together the entire time outside."

"So you're confident Lenalee's with them?" Komui asked, surging forward with the tree again.

"Absolutely certain." Gwen smiled reassuringly. "Like I said, you shouldn't worry. Those two won't let anything happen to her."

With a mighty strain of exertion, Brutus hauled the tree forward again, knocking both Gwendolyn and Komui off their feet and leaving them to the mercy of the needles and branches. Instinctively, Komui curled into a ball and covered his face as the tree scraped over him. It didn't hurt as much as he'd expected, but it still felt pretty uncomfortable lying completely helpless while greenery buffeted him. At one point, branches caught his collar, dragging him a couple yards before he managed to work himself free. When at last he finally emerged from under the gigantic conifer, he was pleased to find he was more or less unhurt, though his cap had been snagged and there were far more needles in his clothes than there were before he'd fallen.

"You all right, sir!" Called an agitated voice, accompanied by a stampede of footsteps. "Miss Frere! You two aren't hurt, are you?"

"_Non._" Gwen replied, leaping to her feet and stamping one of them in a childish fit of irritation. "Brutus, you idiot!"

The giant exorcist was marching away with his back to them, whistling a Christmas carol and completely oblivious to their ordeal. As Komui sat up, several pairs of hands gripped his arms and hauled him onto his feet. "Are you hurt, sir?"

"Er…no. No, I'm all right." He whirled and startled the three finders who'd presumably helped him up. "I'm fine." One of the younger finders shrank back, realized his mistake, and rejoined the line with the others. None of them looked him in the eye and kept their faces devoid of emotion as they waited to be dismissed. Komui almost did so, but he hesitated, frowning at their uneasy postures. Sweat beaded on the younger one's forehead and the hands of the others kept twitching nervously. "Thank you. All of you."

"Yes, sir." They replied in unison.

"Do you think if I went outside, someone would try to chop me down, too?" The trio frowned in consternation, glancing at each other in puzzlement. The joke penetrated their confusion and tentative smiles appeared, easing some of their apprehension. Satisfied, Komui straightened and waved an arm, dislodging a few needles. "Carry on."

With a nod, the three turned and darted back to their tree and resumed pulling. Komui stepped out of the way as they passed by, raising a hand to wave cheerfully. One of the finders replied with a wave of his own, then hissed to his companions, who all turned and nodded cordially and continued on their way. Komui turned to see what had become of Gwen and was surprised to see her still shaking her fist at Brutus, who was still unaware of what had happened.

"Watch out, Gwen!" Komui called.

The woman turned about to face him and saw the finders' tree just in time, diving out of the way and redirecting her annoyance at the group. With a smirk, Komui shook his head and journeyed back the way he'd come, wondering if his sister had returned yet.

-0-0-0-

"Maybe he's hiding from Reever again." Daisya suggested with a shrug.

Lenalee shook her head. "No, he only does that when he's sneaking away to see me."

Kanda said nothing, only flicking his black eyes to various parts of the currently unoccupied office before turning on his heel and striding out. Reaching the same conclusion Komui wasn't there, Lenalee and Daisya followed suit on their way first to their individual rooms to change and drop off gifts, and then to the Great Hall. "Where else would they put eight trees?" was Daisya's logic.

Truthfully, Lenalee could think of several rooms in the Order big enough to house over a dozen conifers, and then considered the possibility the trees were spread out between other rooms of the citadel. But she didn't have the energy to argue with her friend, so she wore a bright smile and ran hand in hand with the boys, almost towing them after her, until they reached their destination.

"Heave ho, laddies!" Boomed Brutus' powerful voice as a sixth tree was pulled upright with a shower of pine needles raining down upon the heads of several finders.

Sure enough, the Great Hall seemed to have become the center of the Black Order Christmas. In contrast to the rest of the Order's crude and dark hallways, the gigantic Hall was an elegant white marble chamber with a tiled floor, not cobbled. The ceiling was painted with the intricate pattern of the silver Rose Cross with a large chandelier in the center and four smaller ones at the prominent points.

"It's huge!" Lenalee cried, throwing her arms out and spinning on her heels, black ruffles of her skirts flying.

"Have you never been here for the Awakening?" Kanda asked, raising an eyebrow at her behavior shift.

"They always kept me locked in my room because they thought I'd take the opportunity to escape again."

"What's the Awakening?" Daisya asked, puzzled.

"The gala held for the Order's founding day." Answered a woman behind them. Both boys whirled around and Lenalee stopped spinning, wobbling dizzily. Gwen smiled broadly, showing her teeth and asking, "You're 'ere to 'elp, right, _mes chéris_?"

"Sure." Daisya answered automatically.

The markswoman's smile broadened and she took Lenalee by her arm. "You three come with me, then." Lenalee squeaked as the taller woman pulled her along through the myriad of decorators rushing about. "Solly, _mi amour_! I've got some 'elpers for you!"

"Fantastic!" The white-haired woman replied, clapping her hands. Her mismatched eyes beamed at them as she waved them over.

"What do you want us to do, miss Sol?" Lenalee asked as she darted forward to meet her.

"Actually, I only need one helper really." She looked up at Gwen. "Mind giving the boys another job? I don't think what I've got planned is challenging enough for these two." Lenalee cast an alarmed look toward the boys, apprehensive of being left alone, but Gwen was already whisking them away through the busy crowd.

The girl flinched as Sol clapped a hand over her shoulder. "Right, then. Let me show you what you'll be doing, girlie." The Scandinavian woman led her over to the sea of cardboard boxes surrounding her tree of choice and unfolded the flaps of one. After rummaging inside for half a second, she deposited a handful of green and red thorny objects into Lenalee's hands.

Lifting one up for inspection, Lenalee could see each piece was a pair of spiky, green leaves and three bright red berries. "This is called holly." Sol explained. "I want you to hang it on this tree here, but try to scatter it about, all right? Nothing worse than a tree looking like its about to fall over."

Lenalee smiled and turned to the tall, dark green conifer, then craned her head back to look at the topmost part of the tree, untouched save for some kind of strand of silver, fuzzy string and a what looked like tiny lights. "I can't get up that high."

"You don't have to." Said Sol, back in the box. "I'll borrow a step ladder when someone's done with theirs. Just get the bottom for now. Go ahead, knock yourself out."

As she turned to sort through another box, Lenalee looked down at the objects in her hands then up at the tree. _There's a blank space there. Is that where I should put it?_ Standing on her toes and stretching her arm upward, she set the leaves on a branch just within her reach. Lenalee stood back to survey her work. _That looks okay._

"Perfect!" Sol cried, reappearing to hang a shiny, red orb from a branch out of Lenalee's reach. "That's perfect."

Lenalee smiled and searched for a new location. There was another blank spot toward the bottom branches. And another over there. And another…by the time Lenalee had circled the entire tree, she had run out of holly. "Miss Sol, is there any more?"

"Whole box of it, honey." She pointed. "You know, in my home country," She explained cheerfully as she stood on her toes, placing a small, dough-like man—gingerbread, the Scandinavian exorcist called it—on a high branch. "we hitch a special animal to our sleighs. Reindeer, they're called in this language."

Lenalee nodded her understanding. "What does a reindeer look like?"

"Hrm." Sol looked around, lips pursed in thought. "You know, like a deer. Except…woollier and bigger antlers." She held her hands behind her head to demonstrate. "Ask General Tiedoll to draw one for you, I don't know." She bent to rummage through another cardboard box. "Now where are those candles?"

Lenalee turned to another box and lifted out what looked like a small drum made of an old soup can with a little pair of toothpick drumsticks.

"We depend on the reindeer a great deal in the north." Sol continued as she reappeared. "Transportation, food, milk, even our clothes come from them."

Lenalee widened her eyes in realization. "That's what your uniform is made of, isn't it? Yours if made of reindeer fur!"

"Right on." She grinned and turned to the tree. "Nice and cozy and not to mention very durable."

"She specifically asked me to use it when I made her uniform." A new voice answered. Lenalee turned around, only to find a short haystack of green cords covered in what looked like tiny, tinted light bulbs. "Did you want lights here or just candles?" The haystack asked.

Lenalee squinted, glimpsing a small pair of feet beneath the spaghetti of cords and lights. Sol stepped forward and lifted it up, revealing a small, timid-looking scientist with a funny pair of glasses. Lenalee recognized him, though she didn't know his name. However, Sol, "Johnny! I thought that was you!" With a small sound of exertion, she lifted the cords up and set them on the floor. "Where's Tapp? Doesn't he usually help you with the heavy lifting?"

He really was a small fellow, Lenalee thought as she tilted her head. Sol had seemed smallish before but maybe that was because she was so willowy and slender. Now, she seemed to tower over the poor scientist with the lights.

"He was busy finishing a project." Johnny explained. "I thought I'd bring the lights up myself."

Sol opened her mouth to say something, then smiled. "You're funny." She gathered a clump of lights in her hands. "Okay, buddy, show me how to set these up. There's a lot of work to be done. Lenalee, you help, too."

"Kay." Lenalee listened carefully to the woman's instructions on how to threads the lights between the branches.

-0-0-0-

"So what'd you get Moppet for Christmas?" Daisya asked slyly, lashing loose pine branches together with cord, forming a large ring of green prickles. Gwen called it a 'wreath' but he had silently dubbed it the vegetation nightmare. "Ouch!" He yelped, stabbing himself for the umpteenth time with needles.

Kanda looked on solemnly but didn't answer his question. Gwen had given him the simple job of adorning each wreath with a bright, red ribbon, some bells, other assorted decorations, and holly, which Kanda and Daisya knew as yew berries. Daisya grinned to himself but decided against pointing out 'yew' and 'Yu' to the younger boy. One black eye was enough.

"Hey, are yew berries edible?" He asked as his stomach growled, reminding him that he'd skipped lunch.

"They're full of taxine, ephedrine, and some volatile oil." Kanda replied distractedly, more interested in looking for something he'd dropped than attending to Daisya's question.

"So, can you eat them?"

"Sure." Kanda fixed his grave, black eyes on him. "If you want some major indigestion and an uncomfortable death following, I highly recommend it."

"You could've just said no." Daisya muttered sourly, plucking one of the red berries and flicking it at Kanda. The younger accommodator recoiled as the berry bounced off his head. Irritated, he glared at Daisya but resumed his work without fuss. "So where'd you learn about the stuff in the berries? I don't recall that being in the old man's lessons."

"That's because Marie taught me that." Kanda turned back to the wreath. "I was stupid enough to try eating them once. He told me what was in them when I recovered."

Daisya frowned, tilting his head as he passed him another finished wreath. "I thought you said you'd die if you ate them."

"I did."

"But—"

"Daisya, drop it." He cast him a warning look, cutting off any more protests.

Daisya opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it and went back to work. Needles pricked his fingers again and again until he was ready to hurl the darned thing into the distance. Noting his frustration, Kanda offered to trade jobs with him, but Daisya declined, bound and determined to finish what he'd started. So, the younger boy shrugged and set a newly completed wreath aside, waiting patiently for Daisya to finish another one.

However, after twelve minutes of watching the Turkish accommodator battling the same one, he found his tolerance wearing thin. Without warning, he leapt up and pounced on Daisya, wrestling the unfinished wreath away from him in a flurry of needles and twigs.

"Hey!" Daisya cried out in protest. "Not cool, kid!"

Kanda ignored him and the needles stabbing his hands as he secured two boughs together with a pair of strings and reinforcing the binding with a third. In no time, he'd produced a finished wreath, which he tossed to Daisya and nudged a box of décor toward him with his foot. Daisya glowered resentfully but dug his hands into the box and began adorning the wreath. Reluctantly, he admitted to himself this job was much easier and maybe a bit more fun. He uncovered a set of small, brass bells in the box and arranged them in the wreath and finished with a dark green ribbon tied on a large, bulky bow. With a smile, Daisya set it aside and reached for one of the two Kanda had completed.

"Better now?" Kanda asked bitterly.

Daisya kept quiet, annoyed with his companion. Kanda looked rather pleased with himself, an emotion Daisya scarcely recalled seeing in him. He scowled grumpily and wove a red ribbon into the bare wreath. "Whatever, you were right. I was wrong."

A new wreath smacked him in the head.

"Hey!" He shouted again, but Kanda was pretending it wasn't him, black eyes gleaming in aberrant mischief. Eventually, he settled back into his ordinary, stoic self, quietly finishing up the wreaths before helping Daisya decorate them. As they worked, the pair watched the happenings around them with growing interest.

Every tree was up and full of decorations, many of them primarily in one color like silver, red, white, blue, or gold. Others looked to be a comical haphazard mess reflecting whimsical and sometimes careless work. Daisya grinned at those ones. "Hey, which one do you like, kid?" He asked. Kanda looked up at him with puzzled frown. "The trees. I like that really colorful one over there. So which one is your favorite."

"The red."

"The red one?"

Kanda nodded. "It's pretty."

Daisya tilted his head somewhat, then broke into a wide grin. "Actually, I think that's the one you cut down."

-0-0-0-

Lenalee pursed her lips in determination as she stood on her toes, wondering where to hang the small, white angel she held in her hands. It was a pretty piece made of porcelain and fitted with a pure white, silk robe and white, feathery wings, and she wanted it where her friends and allies could easily see it. Ideally, she would've put it at the very top, but as she was barely a fourth of the tree's height that hardly seemed realistic.

Lowering her arms, the girl turned about in search of the ladders, but nearly all of them were currently employed in hanging what Sol had called wreaths along the walls with red ribbons, bells, candles, other thick strands of greenery. She spotted Kanda and Daisya among this group, chasing each other and roughhousing or whatever it was boys liked doing. For a moment, Lenalee considered abandoning her task and running off to play with them.

But Sol passed her by, giving her a thumbs up on the way, and the girl resumed working, ignoring the shouting of her friends. Around her, other scientists that had come up from the labs were stringing their 'electric' lights along a number of the trees and the wreaths. Another group of finders were engaged in positioning the last of the candles in the last tree's branches. Additional adjustments and details were performed: mostly tweaking the blinding lights to glow a little dimmer, rolling out a dark crimson carpet, and someone had taken to placing something—sometimes a star or small wreath or angel—on the top of each tree.

Smiling, Lenalee turned away from the hall and refocused on her job, staring up at the monumental treetop with an air of apprehension. No way was she able to get up there. She would knock the whole tree down if she climbed. Balancing on one leg, the girl tilted to the side in search of an alternate way, but nothing came to her. With a sigh, she turned to give up and call for her friends, when she suddenly felt the ground fall away from her feet as a pair of hands gripped her firmly under her arms. "Brother!" Lenalee cried, twisting her head to get a better look at him. "What're you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come down and help out for a bit." He answered with a smile. "You didn't stop by when you came back."

"I did, actually." The girl answered, twisting in his arms to hug him. "You weren't there."

Komui looked perplexed, as though the notion hadn't occurred to him, but he made no comment and smiled. "I'm glad you're back. Did you have fun?"

"Mm-hm!" She nodded. "Lots. We all went out searching for a tree and Kanda cut one down when he wasn't supposed to, I helped Daisya build a snow house, we all had hot cocoa and it was yummy. Oh, and I bought you a present in Town Below!"

"Did you?"

Lenalee nodded again, violet eyes gleaming. "I think you'll like it."

"Like it? I think not." Her brother teased, tenderly kissing her forehead. "I'll love it. Now, what are you up to?"

"Well, I'm trying to put this angel on top of the tree." She answered, holding up the celestial doll for him to see. "Pretty, isn't it?"

Komui seemed to notice the ornament for the first time, studying it with a warm smile. "Yes, very. And you want it at the top?"

"The very tip-top."

Her brother frowned contemplatively at the evergreen, adjusting his glasses as he gauged its height and looked around for an unoccupied ladder. When he saw none, he set Lenalee back on the floor and approached the tree, craning his neck to peer at the top. Lenalee giggled, thinking Komui looked very small next to the tree. He looked back at her, or rather the angel in her hands, then to the top again.

Something seemed to occur to him and he darted back to her, but before he could say anything, they were distracted by a commotion at the other side of the hall. "You're crazy, Mandel, this'll never work!" When the siblings turned, they saw a large crowd had gather around the exorcist general, who was drawing an arrow from his quiver.

"What's he doing?" Lenalee asked. Komui shook his head, unsure, and approached the cluster of people, ready to intervene if need be.

"If I burn the tree down," Tobias admonished. "I will personally venture outside and find a suitable replacement, _ja_?"

Lenalee glanced at the tall, thin windows, now painted black to illustrate night had fallen. A half moon gleamed in one of the windows, which would probably provide enough light for a walk outside, but she shuddered at the thought. _General Mandel must not be afraid of the dark._

There was some grumbling from the crowd as the man positioned himself at least thirty paces from one of the trees. From this distance, Lenalee could see that it was mostly unadorned, save for some sparse garland and a quite a few well-placed candles. What was he planning to do, she wondered as he nocked the arrow he'd drawn. Was he going to shoot the tree? Lenalee glanced up at her brother for an explanation, but he was too focused on the happenings to attend.

Instead of yelling a command to activate, Mandel bowed his head and quietly murmured his invocation. An assortment of circles appeared, arranging themselves in a wide ring high above his head, spinning to stop. The tall man jerked upright, shoulders square as he drew back on his bowstring. He braced his feet apart on the floor and stood still for a long time. Lenalee could almost hear his breathing coming in long and slow as General Mandel inhaled deeply, "Fire Target!" And released the arrow.

He hit his mark without fail, but as soon as it passed through the Target a flaming serpent sprang forward, coiling and worming through the air until it wrapped around the Christmas tree he'd been facing. Lenalee squeaked in alarm, fearing he planned to incinerate it. Instead of going up in flames, or even the candle wax melting, the tree burned merrily, and when the flames dissipated, all the candles were lit.

Mandel lowered his bow and whirled around, extravagantly bowing at the waist and extending one leg backward with his arm waving with a flourish.

An uneasy applause rose up, growing in volume as Mandel slung in longbow over his back again. "Very impressive, Tobias!" Yeegar called as he approached his friend. Other decorators clapping him on the back and shouting for another display of his skill quickly surrounded the archer. Lenalee found herself grinning at the newly lit tree.

The fire Mandel had left behind with his Innocence seemed to glow with an unusual, bright hue, occasionally flickering green here and there. Turning on her heels, the girl surveyed the Hall. Almost every tree was now adorned, only three were still incomplete: hers, the one Mandel had just lit, and a smallish scots pine where she spotted Kanda and Daisya looking on with the other spectators.

Hugging the angel to her chest, Lenalee turned back to Komui and was surprised to find him watching her. A sad look had crept into his dark eyes and was interfering with his smile. It was the very same face he'd worn the day she reunited with him in the Sanatorium. "Hey, what's wrong?" She asked, alarmed.

He looked startled, as though she'd caught him trying out one of those experiments Reever had forbidden him from doing, but he recovered quickly. Lenalee took a step as he knelt in front of her, but he gathered her into his arms before she could go very far. "It's nothing. I'm just happy to see you smiling again. I haven't seen you smile in four years."

Lenalee widened her eyes. But she'd been smiling all day. She'd gone out and had fun, she'd laughed, she'd played with her friends, and yesterday…Lenalee frowned…yesterday she'd…

She'd giggled at something Daisya had said, a wildly incorrect grammatical error that ended the Chinese lesson for the day.

Besides that, her brother had made his point. It had been a while. Komui tightened his hold on her. "God, I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too." She replied in a voice somewhat akin to a whimper, eyes beginning to water.

Komui placed his hand on the back of her head, stroking her dark hair. They remained together while the crowd shifted around them, a blend of color and needles hurrying to assemble the finishing touches to the Hall. Lenalee buried her face in her brother's shoulder and squeezed his neck one last time, then pulled away with a smile.

Standing quite a distance away, she spotted the boys watching them. Forcing a happier smile than her current one, Lenalee waved her hand in greeting but faltered when only a grinning Daisya returned it. Beside him, Kanda's black eyes met hers, and she was startled to find him wearing a somewhat forlorn and thoughtful expression. Lenalee started to run to him, but the older boy slipped into the crowd, disappearing easily among the taller Black Order residents.

"Lenalee, what's wrong?" Komui asked, following her gaze but seeing nothing.

The girl lowered her eyes. "Brother, do you know what would make Kanda smile?"

"Pardon?"

Lenalee solemnly repeated her question, then added quietly, "Kanda always looks sad when he's not angry, so I want him to be able to smile tomorrow."

"I see…" Komui said slowly, a little stunned. It was true; he had never once seen the boy smile and he was well aware of his livid/depressed moods. In all honesty, though, he didn't think he knew the kid well enough to determine what he enjoyed. "Well, to start off, do you know what's making him sad?"

Lenalee winced and looked down at her feet. "No, not really. I mean, I know his parents died in an accident when he was little, so I guess he's an orphan like us. It could be that he misses them. And he was abused just like I was when he came to Europe, but I don't know what the scientists did to him. He never tried escaping like I did, though I'm pretty sure the medics kept him restrained for a while."

"Who told you about his parents?" Komui asked suddenly, a confused look in his eyes.

"Kanda did." Lenalee answered uneasily, wondering why that mattered. "He told Daisya and I that he was born in Asia Branch, and I wanted to know who his parents were, so he answered they were scientists who had died in an accident. I don't know their names, though. He didn't tell me. Do you know who they were?"

Komui shook his head, frowning in bewilderment. Eventually, he gave up on whatever was troubling him and brushed a hand against his sister's hair. "I'm not trying to discourage you from trying, but it is possible that whatever trauma your friend has experienced…well, he may not be willing to cheer up as you want him to."

Lenalee's eyes took on a downcast quality.

"Don't take this the wrong way!" Komui added hurriedly, grasping her shoulders. "I'm not telling you to give up; I just don't want you to force it. Time heals all wounds, as they say. But some people don't bounce back as quickly as you have." He knelt before her and brushed a hand to her cheek. "Remember, to your knowledge Kanda doesn't have an older sibling to wait for. The most you can do at this point is to be the best friend you can possibly be."

-0-0-0-

Lenalee was silent as she walked back to her room. Both Daisya and Kanda were in front of her, the older boy telling the other a joke about a starfish and a seashell and getting no reaction at the punch line. "Aw, come on! That was gold!"

"Your jokes suck." Said the latter with vehemence.

Lenalee smiled softly.

"Come on! Moppet thought it was funny!" He looked back. "Right, kid?"

"Sure."

"See!" Daisya gestured as he turned back to Kanda. "She loved it! Where are you at?"

"It wasn't funny." Kanda answered, giving no explanation why.

Lenalee sighed and lowered her head. After the stir General Mandel had caused with his performance and her discussion with Komui, the boys had found her and they'd left the Hall for dinner. She resisted at first, wanting to place her angel in the tree, but her empty sharply reminded her the only thing she'd eaten today was a pancake and a cookie. Upon hearing her growling stomach, the pair had led her down to the mess hall and quickly remedied the issue with a plate full of rice and large bowl of carrots and peas, which they all shared.

However, in the eagerness to eat and being swept through one corridor after another, Lenalee found to her disappointment she would not be returning to the Great Hall to finish her task.

And she was still no closer to getting Kanda to smile than she was that afternoon. Swallowing painfully, she thought about what her brother said. _Be the best friend I can be…_ Even so, was that enough to help him cheer up? She didn't even know why Kanda looked so sad whenever he wasn't angry? Well, not sad per se, but every so often, she caught him staring wistfully at nothing. Like he was lonely or depressed. Or despondent as she'd just witnessed in the Hall. Something about him had always struck her as tragic, and that something terrible had caused him to be that way. It was just the way he carried himself, it seemed.

"Hey, Kanda?" She asked hesitantly.

"Mm?" He turned his head, then turned when he realized she'd stopped walking. "Yeah, what's up?"

Lenalee hesitated. She'd promised Komui she would never ask Kanda about his parents nor did she want to, unwilling to cause him any unnecessary pain. A lump caught in her throat. So why did she get he attention? He was still watching her and waiting for her to speak, probably growing more and more impatient by the second. What should she say? Daisya asked her if she was all right, and she answered that she was; but inside…

Without a word, she darted forward, throwing her arms around his skinny torso and burying her face in his chest. Kanda yelped in surprise, looking helplessly between the girl and Daisya, who looked on as though he weren't sure whether to smile or be concerned. "What's wrong?" He demanded, irritably. "Let go!"

Lenalee shook her head and looked up at him, violet eyes gleaming. "I just wanted to tell you I'm glad you're my friend."

Kanda blinked in bewilderment, then narrowed his eyes. "Che, couldn't you have just said that without hugging me?"

"Nope!" She shook head again and released him. "It had to be this way and I'm not apologizing for it." Then she turned to Daisya and hugged him as well. "And I'm happy you're my friend, too!"

"Uh…yeah, I'm happy we're friends, too." He answered awkwardly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "What's gotten into you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She answered, pulling away. "It's Christmas tomorrow, so I thought I would tell you that."

"We already know you're glad we're all friends." Kanda muttered indignantly. "We're glad, too, and you know—" Suddenly, there was a mechanical straining sound and Kanda's golem, which Lenalee had affectionately called Tsuki after the Shinto god of the moon, wrenched its way out of its owner's coat collar. "What is it?" Kanda asked, not even looking at the fluttering machine, so she wasn't sure whether he was addressing her or the golem.

"Yu Kanda, please report to communications." Said a pleasant female voice. "There's an incoming call for you."

The older exorcist blinked in surprise. "I'd better get that." He said as he turned to leave. "I'll see you two tomorrow, then."

"Good night, Kanda!" Lenalee called after him.

"Night."

With a smile, the girl turned to Daisya who was watching her with a concerned look. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Lenalee nodded happily. "Mm-hm! I'm perfectly fine."

For a moment, the Charity Bell exorcist seemed unconvinced, but he smiled in the end and ruffled her hair. "C'mon. I think we've a couple Christmas presents to wrap. Wanna help me?"

"Yes!"

-0-0-0-

Translations

_Mes chéris_: (French) Darlings

Special thanks to all reviewers, followers, and favoriters! Thank you all for waiting for the third installment of Needles. There's going to be two more chapters after this, so stay tuned.

A note on Tobias Mandel, obviously he is an OC, but the invocation of his Innocence in this chapter—Fire Target and the other circles—is supposed to be reminiscent to the 'Seals' or 'Stamps' Lavi uses. The reason is Lavi began using Tobias' power after his death. Although he's an OC, he is a nameless character from the anime. I just gave him a name. He's the archer exorcist who found Yeeger in episode 25.

D. Gray Man is the property of Katsura Hoshino.


	4. Lights

Author's Notes: I just looked over the first few chapters and I noticed I'm a little inconsistent as to how old everyone is. Just setting the record straight Lenalee is ten, Kanda is twelve, and Daisya is thirteen. And we're back in. Hope you enjoy the fourth chapter.

**Lights**

Dawn broke the next morning with an array of brightly lit blue and violet blotches painting the wall opposite the stained-glass window. With a groan, Kanda flinched away from the bright spark of light gleaming through one window crack and pulled the pillow over his head.

A troublesome weight had shrouded his mind and wormed deep into his thoughts, snuggling cozily in his mental schema and discouraging all hope of sleep the previous night. For hours, he'd stared at the grim hourglass resting on its stand across the room until his eyes burned and he curled into a comfortable ball to sleep. However, when he did finally to close his eyes long enough to tune out his daily problems, a violent and blood lusting torrent of nightmares rudely shoved him yelping back into wakefulness.

As a result, last night's tossings and turnings left him in a foul mood as well as an all too familiar throbbing headache.

Closing his black eyes, Kanda took a moment to savor sleep a little longer before flinging the blue and violet comforter off and sitting upright. A new burst of pain lashed out from his mind, searing his brow and nearly knocking him back down. Attempting to quell it by rubbing his forehead seemed only to increase the pulsing agony.

When at last the soreness toned to a manageable level, he risked opening his eyes. The Woman was back, staring into the distance as she normally did, saying nothing and taking no notice of him. In one of her hands, she grasped an indistinct object, though he guessed it was either a spear or a staff of some sort. As usual, he could see almost nothing of her face, just the bridge of her nose and faint but grim outline of her mouth. He'd never seen her eyes, not even when she looked directly at him. The radiant light that always seemed to accompany her always obscured them, a frustrating detail. If he could just see her eyes, maybe it would be enough to help him remember who she was.

As standard procedure dictated, more out of annoyance than anything, Kanda ignored her and slid off his bed, wincing as his bare feet struck the cold floor. Frozen toes reminding him that he needed a rug in here. Kanda grabbed the long-sleeved, black turtleneck he'd worn yesterday and pulled it over his head. By the time he could see again, the Woman was gone.

Over the last four years, he'd observed she tended to appear more frequently during emotional upheavals he experienced. At the time when Lenalee was confined to psyche ward of the infirmary, he saw the Woman every other hour, but since Leverrier's promotion, Komui taking over his post, and his friend's recovery, she had more or less ceased hounding his brain, except in small, infrequent doses.

He yanked the shirt's hem to his waist with a quiet, "Che" and narrowed his black eyes on the spot where she'd been. Finding nothing of interest, he flicked a glance at his hourglass before silently leaving the room.

The corridor was just as cold. A dense front of icy air collided with him so suddenly it made him gasp and a cloud of vapor briefly hung before him until dispersing. Clutching at his upper arms to hug himself, Kanda shivered for a moment and recalled the morning of his first winter: standing at the edge of the Womb Chamber with Alma, both of them trembling in the freezing air. He banished the image almost as soon as it came to him.

Didn't the European Branch have a heating system? He thought disbelievingly as he pulled his short hair back for a small stump of a ponytail. He was almost convinced the Asian Branch didn't—it was freezing no matter where he went in that facility—but the Main Headquarters? Filing the question away for later, Kanda broke into a sprint toward the mess hall, not only at the prospect of food but of warmth.

His theory proved correct as he darted into the mess hall. With the high demand of morning nourishment came the comforting heat provided by the kitchen ovens. For once, it felt good to stand in line to order food. He waited

patiently, not even complaining when he had to stand on his toes in order to _peek_ over the counter by Jerry's window.

"The usual, please." He requested, gripping the counter to keep his balance.

"Mm-hm!" The Indian chef nodded cheerfully. He was now crowned with an odd, little hat that was red in color with a white trim and a white ball of fuzz at the end. "Coming right up. Anything else?"

Kanda was about the shake his head when something struck him and he added quickly, "And some cocoa."

Jerry looked surprised, but waved him along, "No problem, Button."

He wrinkled his nose at the unwelcome endearment, but took his food in silence and slinked off in search of a peaceful spot to eat. He spotted Lenalee and Daisya after a moment, seated at one of the far tables. Upon seeing him, Lenalee excitedly waved him over while Daisya twisted in his seat to see what caused the fuss. He appeared as he normally did in the mornings, disheveled, hungry, and murderous if anyone dared take so much as a morsel of his food.

Kanda almost grinned, thinking of several occasions and when he'd risen to Lenalee's defense after the girl had asked to try something on Daisya's plate and received a snarl. Most of the time, this led to a fight, albeit a brief one as Jerry did not tolerate scuffles or all-out brawls in 'his domain' and he was almost always the first to break it up, succeeding ninety percent of the time.

_I wonder how he would've fared in a fight between Alma and me._ He supposed for a second then recoiled as though he'd been punched in the gut. _What the hell is wrong with me today?_

Pushing all thought of his former and dead friend to the back of his mind, he stepped forward with the steaming bento of soba and took a seat beside the famished accommodator and across from Lenalee. He also made a point to steal a biscuit off Daisya's plate, which maddened the elder exorcist, but stifled retaliation after noticing Jerry giving them the stink-eye, as though the pair of them merely sitting beside each other would cause a problem.

"How'd you sleep?" Lenalee asked once she'd swallowed her oatmeal.

"The normal way." Kanda responded dolefully, in no mood to divulge any information regarding the intervals in which nightmares had roused him. With a yawn, he slurped up several strands of soba, much to Daisya's disgust, but the elder exorcist made no comment on account of their cultural differences.

But he did frown contemplatively at his tray and asked, "Hey, what's in the mug?"

"Cocoa."

A look of shock rushed over Daisya's face and he grabbed at the mug, ignoring Kanda's protesting shout, and peered inside. "Good God, it _is_ cocoa!"

Lenalee widened her eyes and turned to look at him. "But you _hate_ sweets!"

"Then it's a good thing hot cocoa's bitter." Kanda retorted with a scowl and began spearing marshmallows with his chopsticks. "You can have these, though." For a while, he sensed the pair's questioning eyes on him, but eventually, with the occasional glance, they took up their conversation again.

"You should've seen Jerry when Brutus told him the event needed food." Daisya grinned. "I thought he was gonna dance a jig right out of the kitchen and hug the big guy."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you know how he is. You know, when I first met Jerry…"

With a sigh, Kanda tuned out the elder boy's voice and closed his eyes, abstaining from the banter in favor of his breakfast. Every so often, Lenalee would ask him a question in an attempt to pull him in, but he always responded in monosyllabic answers, a nod, or a noncommittal grunt. Her attempts grew less and less frequent as breakfast went on but never stopped altogether. Kanda quietly finished his meal and, still drowsy, allowed himself to doze off.

"Oh, right, I forgot." Daisya's voice stated abruptly, "Hey, Kanda, who called you last night?"

Kanda opened his eyes. "Hm? Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious." Daisya shrugged. "I couldn't think of anyone you knew outside the Main Headquarters. Then again, I suppose you were born in Asia Branch, so an old friend wishing you a Merry Christmas?"

"Mm, close." Kanda closed one eye. "He was calling to let me know he's going to be here today. Central holds meetings periodically throughout the year and one of them is always on Christmas morning."

"Oh!" Lenalee glanced around the room as though expecting to find old men in Central's dark red uniforms lurking among the crowd. "They're probably there right now."

Daisya nodded somewhat sagely. "Gwen mentioned the party officially started right after the meeting ended."

"Why wait?" Kanda asked, raising an eyebrow. "If it's well underway by the time Central finds out, they can't stop it."

Daisya smirked knowingly as he narrowed his eyes slyly. "Well, it's because of Moppet's big brother."

"Komui?" Lenalee looked startled.

"Yep." Daisya nodded, picking up another one of his flour biscuits. "Apparently, Gwen's pretty impressed by your brother, kid, and she wanted him around when the party started, regardless of what Central thinks." He split the biscuit in half and took a bite of one as he turned to Kanda. "And while I'm on the subject, you tell your mystery friend about the party Gwen and Brutus are throwing?"

"It honestly didn't cross my mind. Parties make me uncomfortable."

Daisya smirked but said no more and returned to his breakfast, leaving Lenalee to ask, "Is he a good friend?"

"I suppose you could say he is." Kanda yawned and brought the cocoa mug to his lips. "He_ did _help me during a time when I really needed it, so yes, he is a good friend."

Sensing that was all he had to say on the matter, Lenalee spooned the last of her oatmeal into her mouth and declared, "I'd like to meet him."

"What?" Kanda nearly spit out the warm liquid. "Why?"

Lenalee frowned stubbornly. "Clearly, whoever this friend is, he's really important to you. I want to know who he is." Then, with an air of finality, she stood and scooped up her tray. "So you're going to introduce us, okay?"

Kanda stared at her in disbelief, wondering why this was so important to her, but he nodded uncertainly. "Sure."

-0-0-0-

For the remainder of the morning, the trio wandered their time the hallways and discovered that sometime during the night, the festive décor spilled out of the Great Hall and into the rest of the Order in the form of stockings hung on the walls, stuffing strewn about in the corridors (snow, they eventually figured out), an enormous wax guy with a white beard dressed in red and white furs that startled them when they rounded a corner, as well as countless other additions. Even in the central elevator shaft, someone had not only strung an abundance of greenery along the banisters on every level but had also taken the time to decorate all of them with bulbs, candles, and tinsel.

"I wonder if they put a tree in Hevlaska's chamber." Lenalee mused, leaning over the railing and peering into the deep, dark abyss where the ancient accommodator dwelled. "It must get lonely down there."

"Did she always look like that?" Daisya wondered aloud, thinking of his first encounter with her.

"She used to have a human form." Kanda answered, crouching on the floor and sticking his head between the railing. "Until she began to accommodate the Cube, that is."

"How do you know?" Lenalee asked.

"She told me." Kanda yawned. "When I was returning from an assignment last year, I asked her if she was always that way. She told me she was once an ordinary human girl when Robert Leverrier and Morgan de Grayman found her. A member of a now extinct nomadic tribe, but that's all she told me."

"The first leader of the Order and the first exorcist?" Daisya asked in disbelief. "Wow, that _is_ a long time to be alive."

"Mm." Lenalee nodded. "And she hasn't left since this fortress was built. Why do you suppose they put her way down there? That's a mean thing to do, especially since she does so much for the Order by guarding the unpaired Innocence."

"It's because she can't stand bright lights." Daisya explained, to their surprise. "Haven't you ever seen her flinch when the elevator comes down? And that's a really dim light. Think of how much sunshine or even the lights up here must bother her. That's probably why they keep it so dark in the basement."

Lenalee perked up a little. "Let's go wish her a Merry Christmas! I'll bet she won't be coming to the party later, so we ought to go see her."

"Sounds great." Daisya grinned.

"Where's the elevator?" Kanda murmured, then pulled his head out of the railing with a solemn look. "Unless you want to jump."

Nobody took to this idea, except maybe Kanda who seemed to be seriously considering it as he kept looking over the railing as if to judge the distance. In the end, he did follow the other two as they made their way down several corridors leading to an old spiral staircase that was hardly ever in use anymore. The only reason Lenalee knew of it was by accident when she'd been running from the Crow guards. She hadn't used it since Komui had joined the Order though, not even as a shortcut to get around the fortress quicker. Age and neglect had left it rather dilapidated ever since the installment of the elevator system, made apparent by several sections of it crumbling away. Lenalee and her friends took care to keep along the outer wall and away from the center, which revealed the empty blackness of their destination.

_Maybe it would've been safer just to jump into the elevator shaft._ Lenalee thought as they hurried along down the spiral staircase. It was a much longer trip than she remembered, but in due time, they arrived a barred metal that creaked eerily when they opened it. Hevlaska's chamber was as pitch-dark as usual, except for the uncanny glow of the unclaimed Innocence rising up from the deep. As the trio made their way across the ramp, Lenalee reached out to grasp Daisya's shirt, a little worried about getting lost down here.

Without warning, Hevlaska suddenly appeared, rearing her head up at the side of the ramp and staring down at them in surprise. Crying out in alarm, all three of them back up at the sight of her but quickly calmed down. "Good morning." The eldest accommodator greeted in her low voice. "What brings you three down here?"

"We wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas." Lenalee answered, hopping down from the elevator. "I couldn't think of anyone who came down here unless they were a new exorcist or had an Innocence, so…"

"You thought I would be lonely." Hevlaska finished for her, a hint of amusement showing in her voice. "Very thoughtful of you, Lenalee. I thank you. And you as well, Daisya and Kanda." Kanda bowed his head respectively, but his friend only crossed his arms and shrugged sheepishly. "I hear Gwendolyn and Brutus are planning a party of sorts up there."

"Mm-hm!" Lenalee nodded. "They've decorated the Great Hall and a good part of the rest of the Order."

"Have they?" Hevlaska looked upward. "That's surprising. It's been…a good fifteen, twenty years since the Order celebrated Christmas. I'd thought the tradition had died out in the Order."

All three children frowned in confusion, looking back and forth between one another until Lenalee asked carefully, "Hev, why did the Inspector not allow anyone to celebrate Christmas?"

"You mean Leverrier?" To their surprise, it was Hevlaska who seemed confused now. "I hadn't known he forbade Christmas, or any holiday for that matter."

"That's because I didn't."

Lenalee's blood ran cold and all three of them whirled around. Even Hevlaska was startled, having not sensed the side elevator in motion. With military precision, Leverrier strode toward the group, his heels ringing crisply on the stone floor. He didn't halt his approach until he towered over the three and covered them with a disapproving stare.

"Christmas," Leverrier continued, sounding irritated. "Along with any other holiday known to mankind, is not nor ever has been prohibited under the Order's roof. I've no idea what put that into anyone's head. It was simply the decorations that were banned. Fire hazards, among other things. What could the Black Order possibly gain by denying the celebration of various holidays, let me ask?"

Lenalee and her friends had no answer for the Inspector. Just the decorations were banned? But hadn't some of the exorcists told them yesterday it was because it didn't suit a holy war or something like that? Could they have been mistaken? Although she didn't want to believe it, Leverrier's reasoning made sense. Fire outbreaks _were_ common in the Order, ranging from a number of causes. As for what the Order could gain from banning Christmas…

"Now, if that answers your question, Miss Lee," He narrowed his eyes, "I recommend you and your companions find your way back upstairs."

They didn't need to be told twice. Lenalee bolted with Daisya sprinting on her heels. Kanda lingered a moment to scowl at the Inspector before racing after them. "Not that way!" The Inspector shouted after them. Lenalee froze and Daisya almost wiped out on the floor in avoiding her. Leverrier eyed them in disbelief. "That stairway hasn't been in use for decades. Take the elevator."

The trio redirected their destination, a little hesitantly up until the Inspector turned to Hevlaska. "Are you okay?" Daisya asked Lenalee, who faltered in her dash toward the elevator. The girl nodded, but they witnessed her trembling. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Lenalee whispered, slowing to a shaky walk. "I'm all right. I just wasn't expecting to see him."

In an understated show of solidarity, the two boys walked closely on either side of the shaken girl, silently supporting her shattered nerves. Concerned glances exchanged over her bent head as they called her attention to the growing decorations that appeared, as if by magic, in the increasingly festive halls. As Lenalee's excitement grew and restored her cheerful disposition, relieved glances were shared and they just kept pointing things out until the memory of Leverrier was left buried with laughter.

Never before had Lenalee seen the Order so alive.

Upon arriving upstairs, a group of finders rushed past and almost trampled her. Daisya's sharp reflexes pulled her

from harm's way while the scurrying group, mostly female, whispered amongst themselves and clutched small objects wrapped in colorful paper. Unfazed by her narrow escape, Lenalee thought of the gifts for her brother and friends. She'd wrapped or bagged them all the night before and she'd stashed them all in their own little, hiding spots within her room.

She certainly hoped she could remember all of secret places.

Members of the science division hurried around them, working desperately to complete a few last minute projects before the party while a number of cooks migrated back and forth from the kitchens to the Great Hall. A pair of exorcists Lenalee didn't recognize walked by, speaking in low tones.

While she loved the feverish anticipation pulsing through the order, Lenalee still felt disoriented from her encounter with Leverrier, despite the her efforts to reassure the protective boys walking with her. Needing just a moment from the activity and to erase Leverrier from her mood, she quietly excused herself from her friends.

"I'm going to my room for a bit," spoken with a reassuring smile.

"Lena…" Daisya started to protest in concern when Kanda stomped his foot. "Hey."

Solemn eyes steadily examined her face. Not knowing what answers he sought or what answers he found, Lenalee bore his scrutiny until Kanda jerked the older boy away with a muttered, "Come on." She smiled at their retreating backs before turning to the hall which led to her room.

Lenalee froze, catching sight of a white box tied with a blue ribbon sitting on her bed. The early presented gift started her heart racing while everything around her screeched to motionless. It nearly made her dizzy. A present...from her brother. Oh how she wanted to rip it open yet wanted to savor every moment. A giggle escaped as she practically tiptoed to the gaily wrapped package. A present...from Komui. Lenalee thought being reunited with Komui for the holidays was her 'best ever' offering but this… This was a present from her brother! Ever so carefully, her fingers smoothed the satiny box.

Lifting the lid, Lenalee realized why her brother didn't want her to wait. The fabric felt soft in her hands as she lifted the garment out of the box. It was a small dress, just like the ones she used to wear in China, only a brilliant scarlet. As Lenalee held it in front of her, she looked down at the dreary, black dress she wore. Just like the one she'd worn yesterday. And the day before. And the week before that. Everyday since she'd outgrown the clothes she brought with her from home. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes and if asked Lenalee couldn't have said they were caused by joy or sadness.

-0-0-0-

When Daisya opened the door of his room, he jolted in surprise and nearly dropped the wrapped gifts he carried. "Damn, kid, you really like sneaking around, don't you?"

Kanda tilted his head in deceptive innocence and offered no reply.

"What are you up to?" Daisya asked, relaxing as he situated his grip on the presents. "Ditching the party? You know, since you don't like them?"

"No, nothing like that. I was on my way there. Your room was en route, so I thought I'd walk with you."

Daisya frowned in puzzlement. _Did he really just say he wanted to walk with me?_ What blue moon was this when all evidence pointed to Kanda being a steadfast misanthrope? Kanda never started conversations, never joined anyone at meals unless invited, never even made eye contact unless he was irritated. Besides, his room was closer to the Great Hall; he wouldn't have had to pass by his at all. Finally, Daisya grasped the meaning of his friend's words and found himself laughing, "Wow, Tiedoll's right. You _are_ shy!"

Black eyes narrowed angrily before he turned to leave. "Let's just go, all right?"

"What, no denial?" Daisya teased, trotting to keep up with him.

"You know, for someone who hates being punched, you know the exact things to say to get you there."

"Hey, you wouldn't clock me when I can't fight back, would you?" Daisya asked, shifting his hold on his burdens for emphasis.

"Don't underestimate me." Kanda answered gravely. "People who underestimate me get killed."

With that cheerful note, the remainder of the walk was spent in silence, save for the younger boy offering to relieve Daisya of a present or two. After the exchange, the Charity Bell exorcist closely viewed his friend. Kanda had changed out of his training gear and into a black changshan, like the ones wealthy Eastern tradesmen sometimes wore when they did business in Bodrum.

_I didn't know he had one._ Daisya thought, watching him with a frown. The younger boy's eyes appeared unfocused as they walked, seemingly distracted. He kept swallowing, as if nervous and darted wary glances about him. The edgy behavior reminded Daisya of how skittish he was when he first met Kanda. The younger boy held a strong aversion to Central, Crows, and scientists and often avoided crossing paths with them, a fear he was very quickly growing out of, yet today he seemed extra uneasy about something.

"You nervous, kid?" Kanda sliced him a glance and Daisya dropped the question. His thoughts drifted to his old home. _Wonder what Mom, Dad, and the kids are doing?_ They'd never celebrated Christmas per se, but the Turkish people did have their traditions vaguely familiar to the European holiday. His family had always gotten together this time of year, closing the shop for the day, sitting in the house for dinner and exchanging gifts. No tree was present, but the company was good and there was always plenty of his mom's cooking. Daisya smiled to himself as they neared the brightly lit doorway to the Great Hall.

"What's up?" Kanda asked, staring at him in suspicion. He didn't like not knowing Daisya's reasons for smiling. Usually scenarios like that ended with more than a few bruises and a broken bone or two.

"Ah! Nothing." Daisya turned to him. "Question, though, where did that changshan come from?"

"My closet, what's it to you?"

"No need to get defensive."

"Daisya! Kanda!" Lenalee's voice cried, followed by the girl materializing between them, clad in a brilliant scarlet cheongsam and her hair done up in pigtails. "There you are! I was looking everywhere!"

"Che, we weren't planning on skipping." Kanda pointed out sourly.

"I know that." The girl replied, spinning in front of them and making her skirt twirl. "Look at what Komui gave me! Do you like it?"

"Yes, very pretty!" Daisya grinned, nearly dropping the presents he carried in order to catch her before she lost her balance and fell.

"Very red." Kanda murmured, standing on his toes and craning his neck to see past them. He lowered to his heels as he spotted a tall, blond man in a white coat detaching himself from the crowd. Daisya and Lenalee became aware of the approaching figure and the two friends watched in pure astonishment as Kanda fidgeted.

"Been awhile, hasn't it, Yu?"

Lenalee flinched, knowing full well Kanda hated being called that. Daisya glared at the scientist, but to their further amazement, Kanda didn't seem particularly bothered by the use of his first name. "Yes, it has. How are you, Baka-niisan?"

The man's smile transformed to a withering look and he knelt before the boy, putting his hands on his shoulders. "I wish Fou had never taught you that." A smug grin came over Kanda's face, but the other didn't seem too bothered as he suddenly pulled their friend in for a hug, startlingly both Lenalee and Daisya. "How I missed you, kiddo."

"Same here." Kanda murmured, lightly patting the man's shoulder.

"You're getting taller. At this rate, you'll be as tall as Mother by fifteen." Withdrawing with a smile, the man rose to his feet again and turned to Daisya and Lenalee. "And who are these two?" Before anyone could answer, his cobalt blue eyes widened in astonishment. "Miss Lenalee! I wasn't aware you were in attendance! Are you well?"

"Huh?" Lenalee narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. She'd never met this man in her life, _had she_?

"You don't remember me? Well, you were quite young. " He smiled earnestly. "Bak Chan. We met when General Mandel first brought you to the Asian Branch. Lenalee I know, but who is your remaining friend?"

"Daisya Barry," Kanda replied with little information.

"One of Tiedoll's," Bak nodded in understanding. "The bell accommodator, from Egypt, I believe."

"Turkey." Kanda corrected.

"So who are you?" Daisya asked, having gotten turned around more than once in the abrupt encounter.

With a smile, he introduced himself. "I'm Bak Chan, Director of the Asian Branch." The two friends continued to watch him expectantly as he was the man who dared hug the third member of their trio. I'm also..." Glancing at Kanda, he continued hesitantly, "A…I'm a friend of your friend."

Kanda sighed resignedly. "He's my brother."

Even the Asian director looked surprised by this declaration, not in a way that said he had no prior knowledge but rather that Kanda shared it. In unison and with little thought for tact, the stunned friends blurted, "You have a brother?"

Kanda shrugged, forcing Bak to stammer into the silence. "We're not blood siblings. Kanda's technically more of…an adopted brother." He cast a wary eye at the younger boy and attempted to explain, "My family took him in after, well, things happened," His voice trailed off, not wanting to go down that path. "Blood ties or not, I love him like a real brother."

Kanda looked pained at that declaration.

"So not…_biological_ brothers?"

"Now where did a little girl like you learn a big word like that?" Bak remarked, looking impressed.

Lenalee felt her cheeks redden a little, but Kanda answered solemnly, "Daisya and I taught it to her yesterday."

Bak merely grinned at the boy's discomfort but offered a subject change in the form of a present. "I don't know if we'll have much time together during the party and such. It isn't often all of the Directors, Generals and most of Central is in one place, and many of them will want to speak with me. But I wanted to be sure I gave this to you before I left." He placed a small engraved box into Kanda's hands.

Hinges creaked slightly as Kanda lifted the lid. He remained motionless, not removing the item or saying a word.

Curious at his reaction, Lenalee leaned toward him, stealing a peek into the box and failing to understand what she saw. The object in the box was a smooth, round stone, like a large pearl that shone with a vivid, blue color the same as the ocean. It was identical to the one Bak clipped in his ponytail.

Kanda remained silent for a very long time and when he spoke his voice was unsteady. "Are you sure?"

"Definitely." The Asian director wrapped an arm around his slender shoulders and drew him close. "You may never be able to use it as a Chan sorcerer can, but all members of the family have one. It's only right you do as well, even if it's only for show."

Kanda pinched the pearl-like stone between his thumb and forefinger and held it up, swallowing a lump in his throat as he did so. "Thank you, Bak," and the simple usage of his name revealed to everyone how much this gift meant to him. Unable to respond, Bak gripped his shoulders in parting before rising back to his feet and stepping back into the Great Hall. Bursting with questions, Daisya and Lenalee turned back to their friend, who was still reeling from the unexpected gift.

"What is that?" Daisya asked first. "Cause if that's a pearl, then that must've been one mother of oyster!"

"No, no." Kanda said in dismay, rolling the stone from one palm to the other, marveling at its smooth texture. "This is a Spirit Stone. The sorcerers of the Chan Clan use it to aid their spell work and the family head, Bak, can use it to summon Fou."

"That's right!" Lenalee cried. "You mentioned that name earlier. Who is Fou?"

"The guardian of the Asian Branch." Kanda answered. "I know it sounds crazy, but she's a physical manifestation of the god a German sorcerer placed in the compound in order to protect it and his descendents. She's a fierce warrior."

"Wow." Lenalee breathed. "And one of the descendants is Bak? Your brother?"

Kanda nodded.

"I didn't know you had a brother." Lenalee spilled. "I always thought you were alone after your parents died." Why would she think anything different? It wasn't apparent to her anyone was taking care of him. He always seemed so independent and self-supporting. Of course she would assume he was an orphan fending for himself.

"You never asked." Kanda replied with a smirk, knowing his answer would infuriate her.

"He's the one who called you last night!" Daisya realized, startling the two of them. "Bak Chan is the good friend, isn't he."

Kanda smiled smugly. "Well, you did say you wanted to meet him. And now you have."

"So he's been taking care of you this whole time?" Lenalee asked.

"No!" Kanda looked scandalized. "I don't need anyone looking after me. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. But..." He lowered his head. "Bak is a good friend—a big brother—who likes to make sure I'm okay, so he checks up on me every now and then. Like I said this morning, he helped me out when I really needed it. When my parents died."

"Oh." Lenalee lowered her head a little, speaking carefully. "You said it was a lab accident, right?"

Kanda nodded. "Mm-hm. A bad one." After a pause, he added somewhat reluctantly, "I was one of two survivors. My auntie Ren was the other."

"That's horrible!" Lenalee cried in shock and wanting to hug the older boy. Most often, she hugged Kanda whether he liked it or not but this time, she refrained. There was old pain here and she hesitated to break into something so intensely private. Unable to completely stop her loving nature, Lenalee slipped her fingers through Kanda's. Although his expression never altered, she felt his return squeeze.

Daisya smiled warmly. "C'mon, you two. We won't have a good time if we think about sad things. Let's go enjoy the party for now, 'kay."

"Okay." Lenalee sniffled.

Kanda bowed his head. "I'm in."

-0-0-0-

Lenalee always liked when Daisya made her feel better. Where Kanda's form of comfort was random (and often obscure) acts of kindness, Daisya never hesitated to pull her into a warm hug and tell her everything would be all right. He simply didn't let go until she smiled again. Now that she thought about it, maybe he had learned the warm tenderness from his old home, being the eldest of four and all.

Allowing a small smile, she followed her friend into the throng, clinging to Daisya's hand as he pulled her and Kanda toward a large, unoccupied chair by one of the trees. After they'd gone to bed, other decorators spread carpets and set up a myriad of colorful but mostly garish, mismatched, and somewhat dusty furniture from Order's _many_ storage rooms.

"Here's a spot." Daisya declared, releasing them and leaping onto the seat cushion of a particularly big chair. He settled in one corner while Kanda took the other, sliding over so Lenalee could squeeze between them. Even with the chair's massive size, it was a tight fit for three, but the girl didn't care. It was cozy and that's all that mattered to her.

Other chairs began to fill as the eager members of the order arrived. Gwen waved cheerfully as she flopped languorously into a squashy armchair, sitting sideways with her long legs crossed over one padded arm. Finders appeared, bringing three-legged stools or claiming the floor, saving the chairs for the exorcists and higher-ups in spite of the superiors' protests. Marie even went so far as to give up his seat and sit on the floor, patting the newly vacated spot. "Sit down!" Brutus boomed. His sofa creaked beneath his massive size as he shifted to one side for a pair of finders.

A number of scientists appeared, including Bak Chan and Komui. The moment she spotted her brother, Lenalee bounced off the cushion and skipped around packages, legs, people, and decorations to greet him. He needed no warning as he opened his arms and she jumped into them. The red folds of his gift fluttered around them as he spun her around.

"I love it," She whispered and it was impossible to tell if she thanked him for the gift of her dress or the gift of being held in his arms. "I have something for you. It's by my friends." She instructed because she wasn't letting him go.

Komui's progressed slowly as he stopped and greeted the various members of the Order. Their gratitude for the festivities overwhelmed him and Lenalee giggled as her brother grew more embarrassed by the attention. The two boys switched to sitting on the arms of the chair, relinquishing the seat to Komui with his sister on his lap. But before Lenalee could hand him the gift she painstakingly wrapped for him, he tapped her shoulder and pointed above her head. Twisting her head around, Lenalee followed his finger to the very top of the Christmas tree.

"You got angel at the top of the tree!" Lenalee squealed, clapping her hands as the celestial figure smiled peacefully at the entire assembly.

"Of course, I did." Komui huffed importantly. "I'm your brother, I can do anything!"

Giggling at the outrageous declaration, Lenalee pressed her brother's gift into his hands. Savoring the moment Komui carefully peeled back the paper and stared rather dumbfounded at the pale blue mug with the pink rabbit on it. His baby sister glowed with delight at her gift.

"Because you always drink coffee." She explained and because it was from her, Komui raised the mug with pride.

"Nice cup, Director."

"A cup like that shows who's in charge."

"Very fitting, sir."

And because it was from Lenalee, not a soul in the crowded room chuckled at the thought of the most powerful man within the European Branch of the Order would forever be drinking out of a cartoon decorated coffee cup.

Komui held his sister close. "I love it," and again no one could be certain if it was the gift or just holding the sister he lost so long ago.

"Director," A voice called, drawing his attention across the crowded room. Komui acknowledged the call with a wave. "Duty calls," He explained while shifting Lenalee to the cushion as he stood. "But first, I wanted to thank the two of you for watching over my sister." He handed each boy a soft garment, the blue for Kanda and the purple to Daisya.

The warm scarves were beautifully crafted but their fingers felt something hard within the soft wool. Kanda and Daisya pulled out identical charms. Komui pulled a matching charm from his pocket and presented it to Lenalee.

"They are tiger's eye for protection from all forms of danger. Engraved are the Chinese symbols for protection on one side and guardianship on the other." Komui smiled fondly at the three friends. "Because I always want you protected and for always protecting the others."

"Thank you, Director," Daisya said formally, which was echoed by Kanda's, "Thank you sir."

The voice was clamoring for Komui's attention and with a smile for the three, he turned back to his duties. The boys slid back to the cushion as the three compared their charms. Lenalee felt Kanda stiffen and glanced expectantly at him.

"That's my auntie Ren." Kanda whispered suddenly and the three friends watched the tall woman across the room. She moved with a style and grace which made them think of their young friend.

"Go say hi," Lenalee nudged him.

"She thinks I don't like her." He answered, looking mournful.

"Why wouldn't you like her?"

The debate showed plainly on his features as Kanda tried to decide how best to answer. "She thinks I hate her for the accident. Auntie Ren blames herself but I never did."

"Kanda…"

"Who's opening," Kanda questioned, deflecting Lenalee's inquiries.

"We'll start with Moppet!" Daisya announced jovially, leaning forward and retrieving a messily wrapped bright, red parcel tied with a carelessly tied green ribbon. "Here you go."

Lenalee apprehensively held the package, eyeing him warily as she began pulling apart the wrappings. She dreaded the possibilities of what she would find. Although confident Daisya wouldn't do anything mean on Christmas, she couldn't shake the fact his sense of humor was on an entirely different track than hers. _No, he wouldn't put anything in here to scare me!_ She chided herself. She needed to have more faith in her friend, she thought as she ripped away the top of the parcel. A black, flannel face with big button eyes stared back at her. As she tore away the rest of the wrapping, a white and fuzzy roly-poly body followed with stumpy black legs. It was a sheep.

"You said you were born in the Year of the Sheep, so…"

Lenalee squeezed the stuffed lamb and buried her face in its head, "It's so soft! Thank you, thank you, _thank you!_" She twisted and hugged Daisya herself. "I love it, thank you!"

"You're welcome." He choked, patting her back while trying to get sheep wool out of his nose.

"You have to open mine," She laughed in delight and presented him a neatly wrapped present. Daisy looked slightly surprised to be receiving a gift.

"Thank you."

"Open it," She ordered and he did with gusto.

Daisya worried a pink rabbit cup would be revealed but he merely grinned as he tossed away the wrapping. His laughter was rueful and delighted as he held up the watercolor paint set and tablet.

"You need to be more patient with General Tiedoll," Lenalee scolded with a bright smile and heard Tiedoll's laughter.

"You'll make a great pupil," He called amid much laughter and to Daisya's chagrin.

To get the attention off himself, Daisya thrust a package at Kanda. "Here."

Where Lenalee knew Daisya wouldn't do anything mean to her on Christmas, Kanda felt no such reassurances. Very little could scare him but the mischievous glint in Daisya's eyes filled him with more than a little trepidation. Almost wincing, he opened the package to the collective held breath of the group. Kanda stared in awe at the beautifully illustrated history book of sword masters, styles and techniques. It covered the origins of swordsmanship of many countries as well as defining the different fighting styles. He couldn't wait to delve into the book that was part history book, textbook, and picture book.

"Thank you," He said without ever taking his eyes from the book.

Daisya just grinned at the stunned silence he garnered from the room. "Who's next?"

"I'm told this one is from Lenalee," Marie's deep voice sounded surprised. "Thank you for thinking of me, little one." The package appeared tiny within his big hands as he gently unwrapped a small, wood carving of what appeared to be some kind of deer. Lenalee bit her lip as Marie turned it over and over in his hands, rubbing his thumb over its textured coat and tapping his finger against its large antlers.

"You can't see anymore," Lenalee said gravely. "So I thought you'd like something you could feel instead."

"This, little one," he said softly as his sensitive fingers continued distinguish each intricate detail, "this I can see. It's a reindeer."

"Bless the girl." Sol Galen whispered quietly to Komui, who watched his young sister with pride.

"If it's all right," Renée volunteered, sounding nervous as the attention turned to her. She shifted nervously under the cluster of gazing eyes, then murmured. "I'd like Yu to open the one from me."

Kanda blinked, biting his lip as the woman passed him a sizable box wrapped in white paper. Hating the attention of the entire room, he hurried through the opening of the present. A pair of brand-new regulation issued exorcist boots lay inside, a quality, sturdy pair that were sure to last before he grew out of them. When he looked up to thank her, Ren was gone. Everyone knew the tragedy that befell this family and they watched the young boy with sympathy. Kanda hated it.

"This one's yours," He growled and thrust a round package at Daisya.

The older boy laughed in delight as he knew what the package contained before he ever opened it. He could feel it. With the paper removed the shiny soccer ball was revealed with a note taped to it. _I, Kanda, promise to spend one free afternoon playing soccer with you._ Everyone knew free time spent playing like a regular kid would cost Kanda more than any gift he could buy.

"But you have your Charity Bell," Lenalee said in confusion.

"You don't have to be an exorcist all of the time," General Tiedoll answered her unasked question. He was proud Kanda wanted to give such a gift but hoped the boy would take the lesson to heart as well.

"Thanks, Kanda!" Daisya yelled and gave the ball a swift drop kick against the wall. It sprung right back into his hands.

"No playing inside the order," Komui yelled and everyone looked as if he had gone insane. As if a mere soccer ball could do more damage than what often took place within the halls of the Order. "I have to draw the line somewhere."

"Perhaps that line should be preventing the Science Division from blowing the place up," An exorcist muttered.

"The line should be at all out battles from destroying the place," A scientist retorted.

"Maybe it should be…"

"No playing soccer in the Order," Komui cut off the growing argument before it truly started.

Lenalee laughed at her brother when no one else dared. She quietly slipped a velvety gift bag to Kanda, knowing he was uncomfortable with the attention and gifts. "For you," she whispered.

Kanda frowned at the object pinched between his thumb and forefinger before glancing questioningly at Lenalee. "It's a string of Buddhist beads, silly." She giggled and took his hand into hers. Taking the purple beads, she slipped them over his wrist. "They're supposed to help you focus when you meditate."

"Oh," he eyed them a moment longer, his slender fingers testing their smoothness. "Thank you." Lenalee returned his rare smile then squeaked as a flat present was pushed into her hands. "This is yours."

Lenalee didn't hesitate for a moment, ripping paper away from the gift until a small, thin book lay in her hands. It was a copy of the same book he owned and the one she always borrowed from him. "Oh Kanda, thank you."

He threw up his hands when she launched herself for a hug. "You're welcome but just stop hugging me!"

With all of their presents exchanged, the three watched the festivities continue as the groups around them traded gifts. Pots were clanging in the kitchen where tantalizing smells beckoned them. Jerry had yet to announce the meal ready and their stomachs grumbled in anticipation. They began to wander through the crowded party sharing in everyone's joy of the night. Many members of the Order began to stop Lenalee as she walked and offer their thanks, asking if she would convey them to her brother.

"Lenalee." A deep voice murmured behind her. The girl spun on one heel, smiling at first, then recoiling with a gasp.

It was General Mandel.

The elder exorcist studied her paling face, saying nothing at all. Lenalee took a step back, bumping into Kanda and Daisya who stood protectively nearby. Her jaw tightened as he stooped and offered a small, white envelope with her name on it. Unsure of what else to do, the girl tentatively took it between her thumb and forefinger. With a nod, Mandel turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Unconsciously bringing the envelope to her chest and waving off her friends, Lenalee weaved her way back to the chair she'd occupied with her friends. She clambered onto its over-stuffed cushion and stared at the envelope. Mandel's personal crest, a longbow nocked with a flaming arrow, was imprinted into the sealing red wax which cracked smoothly in half as she opened the envelope. Inside was a simple, white card with a detailed painting of a conifer with the words _Merry Christmas _in cherry red lettering. Hesitantly, the girl opened the card.

"_It was never my intent to bring you the pain you have suffered. It is my dearest hope and deepest wish you will one day forgive me for my sins, for they are and always shall be my single, greatest regret as an apostle of God. I wish you a long, full life._

_-General Tobias Mandel_

Lenalee searched the crowd to find the general seated solemnly with his eyes closed. In confusion, her eyes drifted to Komui, ignoring the conversation around him and watching her with concern. Daisya and Kanda pretended to dribble the soccer but both watched her anxiously. She had found love here. Her eyes returned to the General, settled deep within his own isolation. He looked lonely. Suppressing a sudden onslaught of tears, Lenalee carefully folded the card within the envelope and slipped it between the pages of her new book so it wouldn't become damaged. Wiping a few stray tears, she drew her knees in and hugged the book to her chest.

_Merry Christmas, General,_ She wished silently as she studied him from across the room. To her surprise, his eyes opened and settled on her. They exchanged only the slightest of smiles and Lenalee realized his gift may have been one of healing.

-0-0-0-

Although concerned for his friend, Daisya knew better than to crowd her when she insisted she was all right. Especially if Kanda didn't press the matter. For some reason he could never understand, the younger boy was intuitive in that respect. As he walked through the crowd, he felt himself become a little subdued. The party continued around him, still as lively as ever, but Daisya didn't feel any real eagerness to join in for once and instead found himself thinking once again of his family.

He swallowed painfully as he felt a pang of homesickness for the first time since he'd left Bodrum nearly a year ago. It came out of nowhere and even startled him. He wasn't used to be feeling depressed or anything like that. That had always been Kanda or Lenalee's affliction, and he had always been the one to cheer them up. Putting a hand to his head, Daisya tried to get his mind back on track, and then realized what was wrong.

Lenalee had her brother back, and apparently even Kanda had family within the Order they'd known nothing about. A lonely feeling crept into his mind, but he shook his head to disperse it. After everything those two had been through, family members were the least of what they deserved as opposed to someone who'd forsaken his family in favor of an exorcist's life. Daisya smiled grimly at his decision and rubbed at one of his eyes.

_Too late to turn back now._ He thought. There was nothing he could do about it now. And besides, even if he'd refused to follow Tiedoll back to the Order, he'd have never met the most awesome friends he had now. Letting out a sigh, Daisya promptly heard his stomach growl. "Well, chef, I certainly hope you plan to remedy this soon."

-0-0-0-

With Lenalee settled and Daisya off to bother some other poor soul, Kanda slipped from the festivities into the much quieter corridor. He knew she was out here but it took a moment to find her near the balcony, staring into the darkened corridors of the lower floors.

"Auntie Ren." The woman spun around, her eyes immediately drawn to his level. He glimpsed the flash of pain behind her eyes before throwing his arms around her waist before she could say anything. Renée stiffened at the contact and he squeezed urgently to prevent her from pulling away.

"Y-Yu?"

"I missed you." He whispered, his voice muffled by her dress. "I missed you, Auntie Ren. I don't hate you for what happened. No one blames you for it. It wasn't your fault." Renée swallowed a lump in her throat, but the boy pulled away, fixing her with an earnest stare. "I know you think it was, but how could it? It was impossible for you to have noticed any flaws or errors. You couldn't have known something was wrong, no matter what anyone said.

Renée said nothing as she scrutinized the boy's black eyes, filled with an emotion she hadn't seen before. "It's not that simple." She said gently. "I had a responsibility, I failed to do it, and Madam Chan, Dr. Edgar, my father, and everyone else in Lab Six suffered for it."

Kanda glared at her. "I don't understand how you can blame yourself for not noticing something only _I_ could see."

"But my father—"

"Bother your father! Saarinzu was a jerk." He took a deep breath. "I miss all of them, too. Doctor Edgar, Mrs. Director, the other scientists, Saarinzu, and I'll even admit I miss Alma sometimes. I wish they were all still alive and that none of this had ever happened." He swallowed and rubbed the heel of his hand into his right eye. "But you're the only one left."

Renée's throat tightened.

Reaching into his pocket, Kanda drew out the blue Spirit Stone and held it out for her to see. "Bak-niisan didn't reject me even though the Second Apostle Project took away his parents; he's even generous enough to consider me his brother, a full-fledged Chan. This proves it. And I will _never_ blame you for what happened in Lab Six. As I said, there was no way you could've known my old memories were starting to come back. So, please," Tightening his jaw, he fixed her with a fierce gaze. "Don't treat me like a bad memory you can just put away in the back of your mind."

Biting her lip, the woman lowered her head in shame and murmured something indistinct.

"What?"

"I'm so sorry, Yu." She inhaled sharply and a droplet of water splashed onto the floor. "After everything that happened, I just couldn't…You shouldn't even be alive right now. Neither you nor Alma should have ever been born in this world, not when you already fought and died for the Order. To have participated in such a horrible project—"

"But you did." Kanda told her, sounding strangely gentle as he reached forward and touched her hand. "I'm not sorry I'm alive, you know. I chose to wake up again for a reason, and I'm not going to regret it just because everything became complicated. I don't hate everyone in Lab Six, really I don't." When the woman gave no reply, he insisted, "Sure, how it all turned out in the end was awful and we hated those Innocence trials you put us through, but I remember we had some good times, too."

Renée still didn't answer.

"You didn't treat us like lab rats even though Central instructed you to." Kanda recalled. "I remember how distraught everyone was every time there was an Innocence trial, even Mrs. Director was sad. Someone was always there to take care of us if we were upset or in pain. You didn't keep us locked up when you weren't running tests; for the most part, we had the run of the place. We were well fed and you treated and bandaged our injuries although you knew we would only heal up eventually. We could always get someone to play with us if we were bored. I mean, remember those kittens Kimberley brought in?"

Renée laughed weakly, despite herself. "Madam Twi was furious."

"That's right." Kanda nodded. "Even Mrs. Director wasn't as cold-hearted as she seemed half the time. She was a like a mother to Alma and me, and I'll always remember her as such. And Dr. Edgar, he was like my father. Everyone else will always be my aunts and uncles, no matter what. And you're no exception." Swallowing painfully, he persisted. "I'd really like my auntie Ren back. Okay? So please stop crying; you're going to smear your make-up if you keep doing that."

Renée raised her head sadly and wiped at her eyes. "You forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive, all right?" Kanda said stubbornly and pocketed the Spirit Stone. "Feeling better?"

"I will." The young woman took a deep breath and forced a smile. "I promise, Yu, and I'm sorry if you've been hurting all this time." Kanda nodded in satisfaction, but before he could speak, they were interrupted by Jerry's call from the main room, telling everybody to gather around to dinner. Wiping her eyes one last time (and sincerely hoping her face wasn't as big a mess as she thought), Renée drew herself upright and patted the boy's shoulder. "Well, I do believe that's our cue. You hungry?"

Kanda bobbed his head once in a content nod. "Mm-hm. Race you?"

"No, I can't run in these shoes." Renée excused herself, holding one of her feet out to show him her heels.

"Wasn't that always your excuse when I won in Lab Six?"

"Oh, be quiet, dear."

The boy grinned as he slipped his hand into hers. "All right, we'll walk then. One step at a time."

-0-0-0-

Contrary to their usual system, Jerry laid out the enormous variety of dishes buffet style. No ordering through a window on Christmas, a Christmas that had decorations and a party. He couldn't let these people show him one better. The lavishly decorated table extended the width of the room and held offerings four deep. Whether Christmas was celebrated or not, each nationality within the order had a dish native to their homes. The dining table were intricately laid with linen cloths and centerpieces. In a word, it was magical. The food was phenomenal and brought many memories of home.

As ever, Lenalee watched for her friends while she shared her holiday meal with Komui and other central officers. She spotted Daisya sitting with Marie and Tiedoll, the three laughing at a story Gwen was telling. Kanda sat with Bak and she chuckled when she discovered the entire Asian Branch table was eating soba noodles. Now she knew where Kanda picked up the habit. As she watched, however, she noticed that woman, Kanda's aunt Ren, sitting among them, right next to her friend. Kanda met her gaze and held it for a long moment, before he suddenly grinned and waved at her. Startled, Lenalee waved back, smiling to herself as her friend turned away and resumed eating.

The food, the wine, the drinks, and most importantly, the desserts were shared with laughter and companionship. The young girl was quite sure this had to be the best holiday ever celebrated at the order. She needed only one more thing to make the night perfect. Quietly she placed the book Kanda had given her next to Komui on the table.

"_A Christmas Carol_." A Central officer mused upon seeing the book. "That brings me back."

Komui glanced at the book resting near his elbow. "I've heard of the English story but have never read it."

"Please read it, Brother!" Lenalee said, holding it out to him.

Komui smiled indulgently. "I'll read it to you once the party is over, I promise.

"It has to be now, so everyone can hear."

"Lenalee," he smiled in embarrassment and protested, "I don't have a very clear voice for public speaking."

"Then you should practice." Epstein declared, pointing at him. "It is a _must_ for all Branch Heads."

"It's just a story, not a speech," His sister pleaded.

"Your voice Sounds fine for speeches and storytelling," Marie determined with what everyone knew was a great compliment coming from blind man who innocence was music.

"It is because of you we've had these fine days of celebration," Gwen murmured softly. "It is only fitting that you should be the one to close our joyous holiday."

Voices called out their encouragement and with his sister's large eyes melting his resistance, Komui gathered up the book. "We might as well be comfortable," He said by way of agreement and every shifted to the many chairs, cushions, and mats about the room.

"_Marley was dead: to begin with_." Komui started with a strong voice the resonated with his smile. "_There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertakers, and the chief mourner, Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was dead as a door-nail._"

Too happy for words, Lenalee fell asleep before Marley's ghost appeared. Kanda and Daisya lasted until the Ghost of Christmas Present. Komui, always one to finish what he starts, read to the very end and not one adult departed until he finished.

Gathering his sister into his arms at the conclusion of the story, Komui was about to set off when Gwen and Brutus abruptly cut him off. Startled at their sudden appearance, Komui opened his mouth to speak, but Gwen pressed a finger to hers lips. "The little sweetheart's sleeping so we'll make this quick."

Lenalee groaned in her sleep as Brutus patted Komui's back, flashing a toothy grin. "Thanks, Chief. Couldn't 'ave done it wit'out ye."

Gwendolyn nodded in agreement and waved around the Hall. Looking around, Komui observed the few lingering attendants—mostly finders and scientists or the occasional exorcists. Tiedoll had gathered up the passed out Daisya, who fidgeted somewhat at the disturbance but didn't wake, while Bak had collected Kanda. Renée came forward then, brushing a gloved against her former ward's hair and smiling fondly at his oddly peaceful face. A number of Central officers still milled about the Hall, though their numbers were rapidly dwindling as they too began to turn in for the night. Several even approached Komui and, so as not to wake Lenalee, thanked him in a whisper for reading aloud.

"This is your doing, Monsieur." Gwen told him then, without warning, stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "I don't believe any future Christmases in the Order will be as dark as the Ghost of Christmas Future."

"No." Komui whispered in response. "I don't believe so either."

"Maybe not." A new voice joined them, one that made the back of Gwen's hair stand up and she whirled around with a glare. Brutus did the same, but Komui slowly turned around to face Leverrier as he stepped forward. The older man was silent for a time, observing all of them with a seemingly disapproving gaze, then spoke in a quiet yet unyielding tone. "While I will respect your right to direct the Black Order as you see fit, Director Lee, I will strongly request you see to it every last candle in the vicinity is extinguished before you retire this evening. There have been more than enough fires in the past and I will not stand for another outbreak tonight. Is that clear?"

Komui nodded, a little disconcerted. "Yes, Inspector." Leverrier nodded curtly, then without another word, turned and walked away. "What was that all about?" Komui asked, turning back to Gwen and Brutus.

The two accommodators shrugged, but something about that mischievous in their eyes told him they knew a just little more than they let on. Filing the question away for later, Komui bade them both a good night and carefully exited the room, heading down the back to the exorcists' quarters. Letting out a tired sigh, he smiled to himself as he looked down at Lenalee.

No, as far as Christmas was concerned under the Order's roof, he didn't think there would be anything to worry about.

-0-0-0-

The morning of December twenty-sixth dawned and the generals prepared to scatter again, seeking new accommodators and training the newcomers. Once again, the stables and the canals were filled with departing exorcists and finders, friends saying goodbye and sharing last minute memories of the previous night. Horses were hitched to wagons and carriages while the best-quality food rations available were packed up. Rising early, Lenalee raced through her breakfast, sprinted to her brother's office and listened carefully as he explained Central had at last granted her permission to leave the Order and train under the guidance of an exorcist general. She knew his position and influence were responsible for the change in her status. Komui remained all business until it came to goodbye.

"Stay safe and return soon," Komui admonished as she donned her winter coat and pulled mittens over her hands with a little more practice than two days prior. He adjusted her pack on her shoulders and with a final lingering hug, he sent her to the stables. "Good luck!"

Lenalee stood beside Daisya while Kanda was perched atop a stall door, swinging his legs with the heels of his new boots thudding against the wooden framework. All three were clad in their winter coats with new scarves wrapped snugly around their necks, and anxiously watched the happenings around them.

Gwendolyn rushed by with a dossier under her arm, her new earrings catching the light and glinting. A pair of finders with heavy gear hefted over their shoulders followed her. With a kiss on the cheek for a laughing Marie, she and her finders departed. A large number of finders in pairs and singles left by foot, all heading for the train station and their scattered posts. Across the stables, Kazana saddled his horse when Sol suddenly approached with a shy smile. The two tipped their heads together in quiet conversation, the incidental touches marking the change in their relationship. Kazana's two traveling companions called from where they were mounted at the edge of the clearing. With a final look in Sol's direction, the exorcist reluctantly joined his party.

"What other apprentices has General Mandel had?" Lenalee asked suddenly of her friends.

She'd been hoping Tiedoll would take her on as an apprentice but no such luck. Not through any fault of hers, he'd explained gently when he refused. He simply preferred to train his students in pairs in order to form partnerships that would work together and look out for one another, a bond Daisya and Kanda were well on their way in forging. The friendship of two accommodators was a powerful alliance, was how he'd put it. Had he another apprentice to pair her with, he would've been happy to take her. However, Lenalee found herself settled under the tutelage of General Tobias. While last night went a long way in soothing her fears, there was still a long way to go. Although thrilled to be leaving the Order, Lenalee was almost sick from the identity of her escort.

Kanda stopped swinging his legs and thoughtfully sought her answers as well as a way to reassure her. "He's never had preferences as to age or gender, and I think most of his students are gone now."

"Cloud Nyne's one." Daisya pointed out suddenly. "So are Edmund Gray and Hattie Banks. You're maybe…his seventh

disciple?"

"Eighth, boy." Tobias' deep, solemn voice corrected as the general approached the trio, carrying his longbow and quiver over his shoulder. "Lenalee, are you ready to depart?"

Filled with nerves, Lenalee nodded solemnly.

"No need to look so downcast."

"I'm sorry, Sir."

Tobias wanted to ease her fears but thought the best approach might be to ignore them. While he didn't want to terrify the young girl, he couldn't coddle her either. She was strong and he felt that strength had barely been tapped. Her emotions would be her greatest strength and her greatest weakness, it was up to her to find the balance.

He couldn't resist a reassuring smile as he waved a hand toward one of the stalls. "I apologize for not giving you more of a Christmas present last night, but there didn't seem to be another way of proceeding."

Lenalee stared at the General, then returned her eyes to the stall. "He's mine?"

"She is," Tobias nodded with a pleased smile. "She's a mare, Lenalee."

Excitement and pure terror made her dizzy. As she approached the stall, Lenalee felt Kanda and Daisya's silent support and youthful curiosity. The horse wasn't exactly small, but she wasn't a giant like the many geldings the Order possessed. Her coat was snow white coat in color and a pair large, black eyes that blinked inquisitively at her new owner as she cautiously approached. Lenalee reached a tentative hand forward and gently patted her fleshy, pink muzzle. The mare snorted, blowing hot breath across her palm and Lenalee jumped. With interest, Tobias continued to watch as the skittish girl worked her way around the horse as the two boys gave her tips for her care and management. He knew of the stories regarding her fear of horses, the reasons why, and her adventure of the morning tree felling. Tobias learned everything about his disciples before he agreed to take them under his tutorage. The three he watched now, he knew were the best hopes for the future of the order.

Finishing her inspection, Lenalee turned to Tobias. "Thank you very much, General. Does she have a name?"

He shook his head. "You may call her whatever you choose."

Lenalee stuck her lower lip out in thought, then looked over the mare's pure white coat again. "Yuki," she decided, thinking of the new word Kanda taught her yesterday. "I'll name her Yuki."

Within minutes, Tobias saddled the beautiful creature all the while instructing the young girl. "I'll only do this for a short time. You must learn her care and do for yourself." Giving Lenalee a boost up, he passed the girl her backpack before swinging onto his own horse, a chestnut mare. "Have you ridden by yourself before?" Although he knew the answer, Tobias tested if she would admit to the weakness.

Lenalee shook her head.

"Hand me Yuki's reins. I'll lead us out and then you can take over outside. Don't worry, we'll start slow and I won't be far away."

Lenalee nodded and passed the reins into his outstretched hand. Her fingers clenched the saddle's pommel as they began to move slowly through the stable. Finders and exorcists moved aside for them, saluting and smiling as they passed.

"Bye, Daisya! Bye, Kanda!" Lenalee called to her friends, who were busying saddling their own horses.

"See ya, Moppet!" Daisya cried, stretching his hand high above his head to wave.

"Don't hurt yourself." Kanda followed, not even raising his eyes from his task.

Lenalee risked turning in the saddle to stick out her tongue at him. "Meanie!"

The older boy shrugged and climbed onto Mary Blue's back, waiting for Daisya.

Once clear of the crowd, Tobias handed Yuki's reins back to her. "Careful, now. Alway be gentle. She'll go where you want as long as you're gentle but firm. We'll work on your riding skills as we travel to Town Below, then onto some basic instruction on exorcisms during the train ride."

"Where are we heading?"

"East." Tobias said shortly. "We're going to my old hunting cabin in the Alps to start you with some survival training. There's always the possibility of akuma hunting and Innocence retrieval if they're reported in the area. You're very young and there is no reason for us to rush your training. We'll be staying at least six months, maybe longer, so I hope you said goodbye to that brother of yours—well, here he is now!"

Lenalee whipped in the direction Tobias looked, hair flying in her face as she spotted her brother approaching her and Yuki. "Komui!" she cried. "I thought we said goodbye in your office."

"I know, but—" He paused to catch her as she slid from Yuki's back. The placid mare waiting patiently even though her rider dropped the reins. "We just found each other and now...you're going to be gone for a long time."

"Oh." Lenalee nodded as she hugged him. That had been nagging at her as well, but she'd chosen not to say anything, unwilling to seem like a bad student to Tobias. They'd only been together for such a short time after four years of separation. Now she was leaving again and she wouldn't be back for at least six months. It wasn't fair. Were their lives going to be like this from now on? Catching brief glimpses of each other as she grew up?

Lenalee buried her face in his coat. She didn't want that. How long was it going to be before their lives could be normal again? After the defeat of the Earl? Exorcists had been trying to destroy him for over one hundred years, Lenalee thought despairingly. _We can't go back to normal._ They could never go back to the way it was before the Order came into their lives.

"I'll bet the mountains in Europe are just as beautiful as the ones in China." Komui murmured, tightening his hold on her. "Be good, Lenalee. I'll be here when you come home."

Home? Lenalee felt her eyes watering, but she squeezed them shut to stifle the flow. "Right," She nodded smartly and earned a bit of respect from her mentor. "I'll be back before you know it."

With that, Komui hoisted her onto the white mare. When he passed the reins into her hands, his fingers curled through hers and tightened before releasing her. "Be safe."

"I will. Goodbye, Komui! I love you!"

"I love you, too! Don't forget to wear your scarf and warm coat everyday. Listen to General Mandel. Remember, if you get lost, don't forget..." The rest of his words were lost over the clip-clopping of hooves echoing in the tunnel and Tobias' departing call, "I'll bring her home safe, Chief. Upon my word as an exorcist of the Black Order."

The General led them along, turning a corner and exiting into a gleaming morning. Sunlight illuminated the fresh powder of snow and made the massive icicles clinging to the Order glisten. With his horse's tail swishing, Tobias looked back to be sure the girl still followed.

Lenalee closed her violet eyes and breathed in the winter air, letting it out with a soft sigh.

"Are you ready, Lenalee?"

"I am."

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: Special thanks once again to my mother for her help in editing Lights. This kinda sorta concludes Needles, but there is one more chapter coming. Hopefully it'll be up before or shortly after New Years, or maybe even for Christmas depending on how quickly I finish it.

D. Gray Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino and the quote was from _A Christmas Carol_ by Charles Dickens.

Thank you to everyone who's reviewed, followed, and/or favorited Needles. You're awesome!


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